Skip to main content

Full text of "The Rubaiyat Of Omar Khayyam"

See other formats 


OF  THIS  EDITION 
1,000  Copies  have  been  printed. 


J-LUIU' 


THE  RUBA’IYAT 


OF 


BEING 

A Facsimile  of  the  Manmcvipt  in  the  Bodleian  Library  at  Oxford, 
until  a Transcript  into  modern  Persian  Characters, 


TRANSLATED,  WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  AND  NOTES, 
AND  A BIBLIOGRAPHY,  AND  SOME  SIDELIGHTS 
UPON  EDWARD  FITZGERALD’S  POEM 


EDWARD 


BY 


• , r * « * 


heron-^llejs/". 

t > a,  «*» 


<U*L  ^ 

ik&  3I  , ^ iS. 

ki  lo. 


, SECOND  EDITION 

' Canfully  Revised...<ai^' tm^derally  Enhvgei 

/'^  % , 


ii 


V \ 
Uk  ' 


'^^ONDOJ!?/ 

Ii.  S.  NICHOLS  LTD.  CRO.SS  ROAD  W.C. 


MDCCCXCVni 


COPYRIGHTED  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES,  im. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


FAG£ 

Introduction i — xlii 

English  translation i 

Photographic  facsimile  of  MS. 29 

Bibliographical  references,  for  abbreviations  in  the 

notes 115 

Facsimile  pages  with  transcript,  translation,  and 

notes iig 

Bibliography  of  Omar  Khayyam  • ■ - - 381 

Some  Sidelights  upon  Edward  FitzGerald’s  Poem, 

‘‘The  Kuba’iyat  of  Omar  Khayyam”  • - 389 


PREFATORY  NOTE  TO  THE  SECOND 
EDITION 


I CONFESS  that  I am  surprised — and  agreeably  so — to 
find  that,  within  six  months  of  the  first  publication  of  this 
volume,  a second  and  larger  edition  is  called  for.  I am  not, 
however,  so  blinded  with  satisfaction  as  not  to  realize  that  the 
success  of  my  book  has  been  brought  about,  not  so  much  by 
any  intrinsic  merits  of  its  own,  as  by  the  ever-widening 
interest  that  is  felt  in  the  matchless  poem  of  FitzGerald 
which  was  primarily  responsible  for  its  appearance.  I have 
taken  advantage  of  the  opportunity  thus  afforded  me  to  make 
several  revisions  suggested  by  scholarly  critics,  and  to  add  a 
considerable  mass  of  material  which  was  not  selected,  or  not 
discovered,  in  January  last.  I am  glad  to  have  found  this 
further  occasion  for  addressing  my  readers,  'if'for  no  other 
reason  than  to  record  my  indebtedness  to  Professor  E. 
Denison  Ross,  who  has  not  only  helped  me  very  greatly  with 
the  revision,  but  has  had  the  kindness  to  correct  the  proofs  of 
this  edition  for  me  during  my  absence  from  England. 


Venice, 

May,  1898. 


EDWARD  HERON-ALLEN. 


With  a pathetic  insistence,  equalled  only  by  that  with 
which  King  Charles’s  head  intruded  upon  the  memorial  of 
Mr.  Dick,  a few  biographical  details  concerning  the  Life  of 
Ghias  ud-dln  Abul  Path  ’Omar  bin  Ibrahim  A1  Khayyam  ^ 
(as  recorded  in  the  Testament  of  Ni^am  ul  Mulk,  and  cited 
thence  in  Mirkhond’s  History  of  the  Assassins, ^ in  Khondemir’s 
Habib  us-Siyar,  and  in  the  Dabistan®)  have  intruded  upon  the 
prefatory  excursions  of  almost  every  author,  poet,  or  translator 
that  has  published  any  book  or  article  having  these  quatrains 

1,  The  European  forms  of  our  author’s  name  vary  in  accordance  with  his 
translators!  and  historians'  nationalities  and  tastes  in  transliteration.  In  English 
works  and  catalogues  alone  we  get  the  variations  Omar  Khayyam,  Omar-i-Khayyam, 
and  Omar  al  Khayyam.  Mons.  Nicolas,  in  his  note  on  p.  2,  says:  " His  real 
name  was  Omar,  but  being  constrained  to  follow  the  oriental  custom  which 
requires  every  poet  to  assume  a surname  (takhallus),  he  preserved  the  name  which 
indicated  the  profession  of  his  father,  and  his  own,  z.r.,  Khayyam—'  tent  maker  ’ 
(vide  note  1 to  q.  22, post;  vide  also  p.  xl ).  The  Persians  say  that  it  was  the  extreme 
modesty  of  Omar  that  prevented  his  taking  a more  brilliant  surname,  like  that  of 
Firdausi  (=  the  Celestial) ; Sa’di  (=  the  Happy) ; An  war!  (=  the  Luminous) ; Hafiz 

the  Preserver).”  Prof.  Cowell  favours  me  with  the  following  observations:  “The 
Atash  Kadah  calls  him  ' Khayyam,’  adding  (and  Persian  authors  generally  do  so) 
'and  they  call  him  ’Omar’  ^).  Still,  the  Persian  preface 

of  the  Calcutta  MS,  has  ' Omar  Khayyam  ’ like  us  Europeans.  . . . Sprenger 
in  his  Catalogue  calls  him  ' Omar  Khayyam,’  and  so  does  Dr.  Rieu  in  his  British 
Museum  Catalogue.  ' Omar  Khayyam  ’ has  therefore  (as  you  see)  plenty  of 
authority  for  it,  ‘ Omar  al  Khayyam,'  as  far  as  I can  see,  has  none,’’ 

2,  Muhammad  ibn  Khavand  Shah  Mir  Khwand.  “History  of  the  Early 
Kings  of  Persia,”  translated  by  D.  Shea.  London,  1832.  (Oriental  Translation 
Fund.) 

3,  The  Dabistan  is  a treatise  upon  religious  sects,  the  author  of  which 
is  not  named,  but  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  written  by  one  Mulla  Mubad. 
A translation  by  D.  Shea  and  A.  Troyer  was  issued  in  1843  by  the  Oriental 
Translation  Fund. 


h 


11 


Introduction 


for  theme.  Broadly  speaking,  these  ma}^  be  said  to  include 
the  story  of  the  tripartite  agreement  for  their  mutual  advan- 
tage of  Omar  Khayyam  with  Nizam  ul  Mulk  and  Hasan  ibn 
Sabah ; his  reform  of  the  calendar ; the  critical  exordium  of 
Shahrastani ; the  story  of  his  apparition  to  his  mother ; 
and  the  one  about  his  tomb  related  by  his  pupil,  Nizami  of 
Samarcand.  It  may  be  further  observed  that  recent  criticism 
has  cast  grave  doubts  upon  the  authenticity  of  these  details. 
In  like  manner,  since  the  death  of  Mr.  FitzGerald,  we  may 
apply  the  same  observation  to  the  biographical  details  of 
his  life,  which  have  been  sifted  from  his  own  charming 
letters,  or  strained  from  the  mass  of  magazine  literature  that 
has  appeared  during  the  intervening  periods,  to  appear  as 
integral  portions  of  introductions,  ever  increasing  in  bulk  and 
weight. 

As  it  is  improbable  that  this  work  will  reach  the  hands  of, 
or  at  any  rate  be  seriously  studied  by,  anyone  who  has  not  read 
Edward  FitzGerald’s  own  preface  to  his  poem,  and  as  it  is  un- 
likely that  any  student  will  read  this  volume  unless  his  interest 
in  that  poem  has  been  sufficient  to  have  caused  him  to  read  the 
“Letters  and  Literary  Remains  of  Edward  FitzGerald,”  I will 
allow  myself  to  preserve  a discreet  silence  upon  these  points, 
and  will  not  burden  my  introduction  with  stories  that  are 
already  wearisomely  familiar  to  my  readers.  I would  refer 
those  who  desire  to  study  the  magazine  literature  of  the  subject 
to  the  articles  of  Mr.  Gosse  {Fortnightly  Review,  July,  1889),  Mr. 
Groome  {Blackwood^s  Magazine,  November,  1889),  Mr.  Clodd 
{English  Ilhistrated  Magazine,  February,  1894),  and  Mr.  Schatz- 
Wilson  {Contemporary  Review,  March,  1876).  For  the  rest,  the 
enquirer  is  referred  to  the  Bibliographical  Appendix  and  to 
Poole’s  Index  of  Periodical  Literature, 

There  remains  at  our  disposal  the  story  ot  how  the  first 
edition  of  FitzGerald’s  poem  fell  from  grace  to  the  penny  box, 
and  rose  thence  to  twenty  guineas  per  copy — and  an  honoured 
anecdotage.  For  the  details  of  this  progression  the  reader  is 
referred  to  the  introduction  to  Mr.  J.  H.  McCarthy’s  prose 


Introduction 


111 


version,  which  is,  as  far  as  my  studies  have  taken  me,  the  most 
scholarly,  the  most  enthusiastic,  an^i  the  most  graceful  essay 
upon  these  more  than  triturated  themes  that  has  yet  seen  the 
light.  {Vide  Terminal  Essay,  p.  297,)  Of  critical  essays  upon 
FitzGerald’s  poem,  probably  the  best  is  that  of  Mr.  Keene 
{Macmillan's  Magazine^  November,  1887),  though  it  will  pre- 
sently be  seen  that  I disagree  with  the  views  he  has  expressed; 
and  of  essays  ex  cathedra — that  is  to  say,  written  by  oriental 
scholars,  since  the  fundamental  essay  of  Professor  Cowell 
{Calcutta  Review y March,  1B58)  nothing  has  surpassed  that  of 
Professor  Pickering  {National  Review y December,  1890). 


Apart,  however,  from  the  anecdotal  history  of  this  collec- 
tion of  quatrains,  and  of  the  matchless  poem  which  they 
inspired,  there  is  a chapter  of  history  worthy  our  careful  con- 
sideration— the  chapter  containing  the  history  of  the  period  ex- 
tending from  about  a.d.  1050-60,  within  which  limits  the  birth 
of  Omar  Khayyam  has  by  consent  of  his  historiographers  been 
fixed,  until  the  year  1123  (a.h.  517),  when  his  death  is  recorded 
upon  more  or  less  contemporaneous  authority.  Within  this 
period  our  poet-mathematician  lived,  and  from  the  events  of  that 
period— events  which  were  stirring  Islam  to  the  foundation  of  its 
faith — came  influences  which  may  have  tinged  the  philosophy 
preached  by  the  singer.  The  internal  evidence  of  the  collection 
negatives  the  idea  that  the  quatrains  were  written  at  one  time 
as  components  of  a consecutive  whole,  and  suggests  that  they 
were  written  at  intervals  extending  over  the  whole  period  ot 
Omar's  life,  and  collected,  generally  into  the  consecutive- 
alphabetical,  or  familiar  dlwan  form,  at  the  end  of  his  life, 
or,  as  is  more  probable,  after  his  death.  In  point  of  fact,  I 
think  it  not  unlikely  that  most  of  his  quatrains  were  transmitted 
as  traditional  epigrams,  and  collected  at  the  instance  of  later 
poets  such  as  Hafiz  or  JamI,  or  his  pupil  Nizami,  many  of 
whose  recollections  of  Omar’s  quatrains,  strongly  imbued  with 
the  proclivities  of  their  recorders,  have  passed  into  currency 
as  the  ipsissima  verba  of  Omar,  among  the  voluminous  col- 

b — 2 


IV 


Introdwtion 


lections  of  quatrains  which,  during  five  centuries,  have  been 
brought  together  and  issued  from  time  to  time  as  his  work. 

It  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  passing  events  had  little 
or  no  influence  upon  Omar  and  his  work  until,  at  earliest, 
A.D.  1076,  when  the  conquest  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Turks  led 
to  that  protracted  convulsion  of  the  Muhammadan  world 
whose  opening  phase  was  the  First  Crusade.^  The  Sultan 
Toghrul  Beg  had  been  succeeded  in  1063  by  Alp  Arslan,  who 
extended  his  dominion  from  the  Mediterranean  Sea  to  Central 
Asia,  and,  being  assassinated  on  Christmas  Day,  1072,  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Malik  Shah,  the  patron  and  protector 
of  Omar  Khayyam.  No  more  perfect  picture  of  the  era  of 
Omar  can  be  found  than  that  contained  in  the  MakamSt 
(or  “Assemblies”)  of  El  Hariri  the  silk  merchant,  who,  born 
in  Bussorah  in  1054,  and  dying  in  1122,  wrote  the  book  of 
which  Professor  Chenery  and  Dr.  Steingass  have  given  us 
a masterly  translation.®  The  origin  of  this  book  was, 
we  are  told,  his  accidental  meeting  with  one  of  the  few 
survivors  of  the  massacre  of  Seruj,  when  that  city  was 
attacked  and  destroyed  by  Baldwin,  brother  of  Godfrey  of 
Bouillon,  in  the  year  1098,  during  the  period  when  he  ruled 
the  Christian  Principality  of  Edessa.®  In  1084  the  conquest 
of  Asia  Minor  may  be  said  to  have  been  completed  by  the 
Turks,  in  1088  began  the  series  of  persecutions  of  Christian 
pilgrims  to  Jerusalem  which  led  to  the  Crusades,  and,  in, 
1092,  Malik  Shah  died,  having,  in  addition  to  his  territorial 
conquests,  reformed  the  calendar  by  means  of  the  labours  of 
eight  learned  men,  of  whom  Omar  was  one,  and  inaugurated, 
by  the  correction  of  all  errors  of  reckoning,  either  past  or 
future,  the  Jalali  era,  a computation  of  time  which,  says 

1,  For  a simplified  account,  see  “The  Crusades"  in  the  “ Story  of  the 
Nations  " series,  hy  T.  A.  Archer  and  C.  L.  Kingsford.  London  and  New 
York,  1894. 

2,  "The  Assemblies  of  A1  Hariri.*’  London,  1867.  This  edition  con- 
tained only  twenty-six  •’  Assemblies,"  but  the  work  has  now  been  completed  by 
Dr.  Steingass  for  the  subscribers  to  the  Oriental  Translation  Fund. 

3,  According  to  some  authorities,  the  conquests  of  Syria  and  Palestine  and 
the  Empire  of  the  far  East  were  accomplished  by  Malik  Shah  {c.  1074-5),  but 
this  does  not  concern  us  in  this  place. 


Introduction 


V 


Gibbon,  surpassed  the  Julian,  and  approached  the  accuracy 
of  the  Gregorian  style.^  It  is  difficult  to  resist  the  temptation  to 
touch  upon  some  of  the  leading  episodes  of  this  period — 
the  disgrace  of  Nizam  ul  Mulk;  the  successive  reigns  of  the 
Seljuk  Sultans,  Mahmud  (1092),  Bargiyaruk  (1094),  Malik 
Shah  II.  (1104),  Muhammad  (1104),  Sanjar  (1117),  and 
the  period  of  comparative  tranquillity  v?hich  supervened, 
during  which  Omar  died®  (1123)  in  retirement  and  philo- 
sophical repose  at  Naishapur,  his  declining  years  softened 
by  the  companions,  the  roses,  and  the  wine  whose  Canticle 
he  sang  to  such  lasting  purpose,  within  sight  of  the  still 
beautiful  and  fertile  valley  of  Meshed  in  Khorasan,  that  nursery 
of  Persian  song,  which  boasted  itself  the  birthplace  in  turn  of 
Firdausi,  of  AsadI,  of  Ferid  ud-din  ’Attar,  of  Jalal-ud-dln 
Rflml,  of  JamI,  of  Hatifi,  and  many  others,  and  which  may 
justly  be  named  the  Persian  Parnassus. 


In  the  West  a sharp  line  of  demarcation  is  apt  to  be  drawn 
between  men  of  thought  and  men  of  action.  The  names  of  a 
few  soldier-poets  and  artisan-philosophers  surge  in  the  mind 
as  one  writes  this,  but  these  are  few  and  far  between.  It  has 
not  been  so  in  the  East.  Omar  the  tent-maker,  Attar  the 
druggist  occur  to  one’s  mind  par  nobile  fratrum,  and  what 
better  examples  could  be  cited  than  Omar  the  Mugherl 
(who  has  been  confused  ere  now  with  our  Omar),  “the  noble- 
man, the  warrior,  the  libertine,  but  above  all  the  poet — ^the 
Don  Juan  of  Mecca,  the  Ovid  of  Arabia  and  the  East — Omar 

t,  "Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire/'  chap.  Ivii.  Vid^  also 
Dr.  Hyde's  work  (p.  xiv.),  chap,  xvi.,  pp.  200-21 1,  Mr.  Binning  (vida  note  2, 
p,  XXV, ) states  that  this  work  was  done  under  the  auspices  of  Sultan  Jalal-ud-dtn 
of  Khorasan,  who  ordered  that,  once  every  four  years,  six  extra  intercalary  days, 
instead  of  the  usual  five,  should  be  added,  so  as  to  make  up  the  complete  solar 
year,  which  consequently  corresponds  closely  with  our  Gregorian  year,  (Vol.  ii., 
p.  i07.) 

2,  A.  Houtum-Schindler,  in  a letter  to  the  Acadmy  (24th  January,  1885), 
states  that  Onur  died  in  a.d.  1124,  ov6y  om  hundred  years  old:  but  he  does  not 
give  hl$  authority  for  this  information. 


VI 


Introduction 


the  Mugherl,  the  grandson  of  Abu-Rabi’ah,”  ^ and  above  all, 
Husain  Ibn  Sina,  known  to  the  western  world  as  Avicenna, 
the  Philosopher,  Doctor,  Metaphysician,  Poet,  and  Mystic, 
whose  works,  varied  as  they  are  almost  ad  infinitum  in  manner 
and  matter,  engaged  the  printing-presses  of  Europe  (as  may 
be  appreciated  by  a glance  at  the  Bibliographies)  at  the  end 
of  the  15th,  through  the  i6th,  and  to  the  beginning  of  the 
17th  centuries,  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  contemporary  poets 
and  scientists.  He  was  born  in  a.d.  980  at  Bokhara,  son  of 
a Persian  tax-collector,  and  died  in  1036,  and  his  compara- 
tively recent  fame  may  well  have  spurred  the  ambition  of  the 
youthful  Omar ; but  his  fame  presents  this  contrast  to  that  of 
Omar : his  science  lived,  and  lives  eternal,  whilst  his  poetry  is 
relegated  to  the  Walhalla  of  pre-historic  verse,  whereas  the 
science  of  Omar  is  disregarded,  existing  only  for  the  curious  in 
the  “ Algebre  d’Omar  al  Khayyami,  traduite  et  accompagn6c 
d’extraits  de  MSS.  inedits”  (Paris,  1851,  Woepeke),  whilst 
his  “ Ruba’iyat”  have  assumed  the  purple  among  classic  poems. 
Professor  Pickering  {loc.  cit.)  has  ably  dealt  with  this  side  of 
Omar’s  fame.  (Vide  Terminal  Essay,  p.  290.) 

It  is  not  for  me  to  enter  upon  a discourse  concerning  the 
fundamental  principles  of  his  religion  and  philosophy;  this  is  a 
field  that  has  been  ploughed  (and  harrowed)  by  eminent 
students  of  philosophical  history  and  problems ; Professor 
Cowell,  Professor  Pickering,  and  Mr.  Schiitz-Wilson,  in  the 
articles  above  referred  to,  have  argued  and  expounded  the 
matter  from  their  various  standpoints.  Mr.  Whinfield  has 
given  us  in  his  “Introduction”  a masterly  rSsume  of  the 
subject.  I think  that  every  student  of  Omar  reads  into  this 
poet’s  quatrains  his  own  pet  philosophy,  and  interprets  him 
according  to  his  own  religious  views.  For  me,  Omar  was‘ 
at  once  a transcendental  agnostic  and  an  ornamental  pes- 
simist, not  always  supported  (as  was  natural,  considering  the 

I.  W.  G.  Palgrave  in  Fraser's  Magazine,  April,  i87i»  **  Arabiana."  The 
curious  are  referred  to  •'  ’Umar  ibn  AM  Rebi’a,  ein  arabischer  Dichter  der 
Umajjadenzeit,”  by  P.  Schwarz.  I^ipzig,  1890.  This  Omar  wa?  born  in  the 
year  a.d.  644. 


Inlyodiictio7i 


Vll 


era  of  religious  hysteria  in  which  he  lived)  by  the  courage 
of  his  own  opinions — in  which  respect,  I think,  Shahrastani 
appreciated  his  peculiar  attitude — but  profoundly  imbued 
with  the  possible  beauty  of  the  present  world,  apart  from 
all  ulterior  speculations,  and  the  everlasting  and  unendable 
search  after  the  absolute  knowledge  of  truth.^  This  trait  in  his 
individuality  led  him  often  into  amazing  obscurity  of  metaphor, 
an  obscurity,  however,  that  a modern  translator  resents  the 
less  when  he  reflects  that  it  was  in  most  instances  the  object 
and  intention  of  the  poet.  His  attitude  reminds  us,  as  a 
writer  in  Fraser's  Magazine  for  June,  1870,  has  observed,  of 
the  saying  of  the  French  philosopher,  Royer-Collard,  to  the 
effect  that  philosophy  is  the  art  of  tracing  back  human  ignorance 
to  its  fountain-head.^ 

A point  which  strikes  one  more  forcibly  than  any  other 
after  studying  many  hundreds  of  quatrains  composed  by,  or 
attributed  to,  him,  is,  that  though  the  sensuous  imagery 
inseparable  from  Persian  belles-lettres  is  abundantly  present 
in  his  work,  it  is  singularly  free  from  that  coarseness — that 
wealth  of  ignoble  illustration  and  licentious  anecdote  which 
render  practically  all  Persian  poems  and  romances  unsuitable  for 
ears  polite  in  an  unexpurgated  form.  “We  find  in  his  verses,” 
says  Professor  Cowell,  “a  totally  different  character  to  that 
which  we  should  naturally  have  expected  from  the  prevailing 
habit  of  thought  in  which  he  lived.  . . . Every  other  poet  of 
Persia  has  written  too  much — even  her  noblest  sons  of  genius 
weary  with  their  prolixity.  The  language  has  a fatal  facility 
of  rhyme,  which  makes  it  easier  to  write  in  verse  than  in 
prose,  and  every  author  heaps  volumes  on  volumes,  until  he 
buries  himself  and  his  reader  beneath  their  weight.  Our 
mathematician  is  the  one  solitary  exception.  He  has  left 

1.  Mr.  W.  L.  Phelps,  in  an  able  article  in  The  New  Enghmiir 
(New  Haven,  Conn.),  vol.  xlix.,  1888,  draws  a scholarly  parallel  between  Omar 
and  Schopenhauer. 

2.  Vide  “ Acaddmie  de  Paris.  Facultd  des  Lettres.  Cours  de  rHistcire 
'de  la  Philosophie  Moderne.  Fremidre  ld(on  de  la  troisidme  annde."  P.  F. 
Royer-Collard. 


vm 


Iniroduciion 


fewer  lines  .than  Gray.”  Were  it  not  that  one  instinctively 
recoils  from  instituting  even  a passing  comparison  between 
Omar  and  the  late  Mr.  Tupper,  one  would  be  inclined  to  write 
him  down  the  Sultan  of  proverbial  philosophers,  an  attribute 
which  is  generally  enhanced  by  the  want  of  sequence  of  idea  in- 
separable from  the  dlwan  form  of  poetic  arrangement,  in  which 
the  quatrains  follow  one  another  strictly  according  to  the  alpha- 
betical sequence  of  their  rhyme-endings  and  without  regard 
to  the  series  of  thoughts  expressed,  or  to  the  pictures  evolved. 

A primary  difficulty  which  confronts  the  student  of  Omar 
Khayyam  is  the  great  difficulty  and  doubt  which  exists  as  to 
which  of  the  ruba’iyat  have  reached  us  in  a form  most  nearly 
approaching  that  in  which  they  left  the  master’s  hand. 
Diligent  search  in  the  older  cities  of  Central  Asia,  where 
Persian  is  the  language,  or  at  least  the  elegant  study  of  the 
more  cultured  classes,  may  bring  to  light  some  MS.  that  may 
fairly  be  regarded  as  a “ Codex,”  and  serve  as  the  point  of 
departure  for  the  student.  At  present  the  oldest  MS.  available 
for  the  student  is  that  of  the  year  a.h.  865  (a.d.  1460),  in  the 
Bodleian  Library  at  Oxford,  which  is  reproduced  by  photo- 
graphy, transcribed,  and  translated  in  the  present  volume.  It 
was  discovered  among  an  uncatalogued  mass  of  Oriental  MSS., 
forming  the  Ouseley  collection  in  1856  by  Professor  Cowell,  who 
made  a transcript  of  it,  which  transcript  lies  before  me,  and  has 
been  of  the  greatest  assistance  to  me  in  deciphering  the  MS. 
The  original  MS.  is  probably  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
Persian  MSS.  of  its  age^  in  existence,  and  is  written  upon 
thick  yellow  paper  in  purple-black  ink,  profusely  powdered 
with  gold.  These  gold  spots  have  frequently  confused  the 
workman  who  made  the  line-blocks  which  accompany  my 
translation,  a further  element  of  difficulty  being  introduced 
by  the  fact  that  the  points  are  often  merged  into  t'he  borders, 
and  therefore  invisible  in  the  line-blocks.  My  publishers, 
however,  have  with  great  liberality  had  executed  for  me,  in 

1 It  is  written,  according  to  the  Catalogue,  in  Nasta'Iik ; but  I should  be 
inclined  to  describe  it  as  written  in  a hand  midway  between  Nasta’Iik  and 


Introduction 


IX 


addition,  a set  of  half-tone  blocks,  which  the  student  will  fully 
appreciate,  as  in  them  all  the  faint  indications  of  the  original 
are  reproduced  with  exact  fidelity.  The  permanence  of  the 
ink  is  extraordinary,  the  only  places  where  it  has  faded  being 
here  and  there  on  the  borders,  and  in  the  formal  heading 
(“  and  likewise  to  him”)  which  appears  above  each 
quatrain.  Internal  evidence  seems  to  point  to  the  fact  that  the 
borders  and  headings  were  added  afterwards  in  a different 
ink,  which  would  account  for  this.  The  scribe  has  been 
exceptionally  careful  in  his  work,  even  for  a Persian  (than 
which  praise  could  hardly  go  higher^),  but,  even  so,  the 
diacritical  points  are  omitted  here  and  there ; these  I have 
supplied  in  the  transcript 

Next  in  order  of  age  among  the  MSS.  come  those  in  the 
Bibliotheque  N ationale  in  Paris,  which  I have  made  a point  of 
carefully  examining  before  committing  these  sheets  to  the 
press.  There  are  three  principal  MSS.,  one.  No.  349  of  the 
“ Ancien  Fonds,"  and  two.  Nos.  823  and  826  of  the  Suppl6- 


Shikasta— Nlm-Shikasta.  There  are  three  predominant  classes  or  types  of  hand- 
writing under  which  it  is  customary  to  class  oriental  MSS. : Naskh,  Nasta’lik, 
and  Shikasta.  Naskh  is  the  equivalent  of  perfect  modern  printed  characters, 
Nasta‘lik  is  small  and  cursive,  but  beautifully  fine  in  execution,  answering  to  our 
*’ copper-plate  " writing,  whilst  Shikasta  (i.e.  *'  broken  ’*)  is  the  current  hand  in 
which  ordinary  commercial  writing  and  correspondence  is  carried  on.  A far- 
reaching  knowledge  of  the  language  and  all  its  idioms  and  inflections  is  required 
to  decipher  it,  The  three  types  are  excellently  illustrated  in  Sir  Williain  Jones’s 
Grammar. 

1.  In  no  country  has  the  art  of  caligraphy  been  carried  to  so  high  a point, 
and  been  so  highly  honoured  as  in  Persia.  Their  MSS.  are  ornamented  with 
marvellous  miniatures,  the  paper  is  powdered  with  silver  and  gold,  and  fre- 
quently perfumed  with  the  most  costly  essences.  (Cf,  Fitzgerald’s  youth's 
sweet-scented  manuscript.")  Sir  William  Jones  recorded  his  opinion  that  the 
MS*  of  Yusuf  and  Zuleika  at  Oxford  (No.  i of  the  Greaves’  collection)  is  the 
most  beautiful  MS.  in  the  world.  Since  he  wrote,  however,  many  MSS.  of 
equally  marvellous  beauty  have  come  to  light,  and  copies  of  the  Qur'an  are  to  be 
found  in  eastern  mosques  of  surpassing  workmanship.  The  learned  Fakr-ud-din 
Rasl,  speaking  of  the  Khalif  Mustassim  Billah,  can  find  no  higher  eulogy  than 

He  knew  the  Qur'an  by  heart,  and  his  handwriting  was  very  beautiful"  Some 
of  the  finest  specimens  of  Persian  MSS.  in  existence  are  to  be  found  in  the 
library  of  the  Asiatic  Society  in  I-ondon,  and  in  the  British  Museum,  where 
some  chosen  specimens  are  generally  on  view  in  the  King^s  Library. 

2.  As  for  instance  in  qq,  20,  50,  99,  112,  130,  and  elsewhere. 


X 


Introduction 


ment  Persan.  The  first,  which  is  dated  a.h.  920  (a.d.  i5I4)> 
is  beautifully  written  in  Nasta’lik  between  blue  and  gold  lines 
and  an  ornamental  heading  in  red,  blue,  and  gold.  It  contains 
213  ruba’iyat.  The  second  MS.  forms  part  of  a large  collection  01 
poems  transcribed  by  the  same  hand,  the  terminal  leaf  of  which 
bears  the  following  inscription:  “The  copying  of  these  quatrains 
was  finished  by  the  aid  of  God  and  by  the  excellence  of  his 
assistance,  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  month  of  Jumada,  the 
second  of  the  year  934  ” (t.e.,  i6th  February,  1528). 

This  MS.  is  written  in  Nasta’lik  between  blue  ruled  borders, 
and  presents,  like  the  first  cited  MS.,  the  peculiarity  that  the 
ruba’iyat  are  not  in  alphabetical  or  dlwan  order.  The  third 
MS.  also  forms  part  of  a collection  of  poems,  dated  a.h.  937 
(a.d.  1530),  written  in  a neat  Nasta’lik,  in  a Turkish  hand 
which  is  extremely  difficult  to  read.  Another  MS.  in  this 
library  has  been  cited,  but  Mons.  Omont,  the  keeper  of  the 
Oriental  MSS.,  informs  me  that  it  has  been  missing  for  many 
years.  In  addition,  there  are  eight  ruba’iyat  written  in  a 
handwriting  of  the  late  ninth  or  early  tenth  century,  A.H.,  upon 
the  blank  leaves  of  a dlwan  of  Emad  which  is  dated  A.H.  920 ; 
six  in  an  eleventh-century  handwriting  in  a collection  of  poems, 
undated;  and  thirty-one  in  a fine  MS.  of  the  Atash  Kadah  of 
Azr  dated  A.H.  1217  (a.d.  1802),  in  the  colophon  of  which  Azr 
is  described  as  afsdh  dl  mu’dsirin,  “the  most  eloquent  of  con- 
temporaries,” indicating  that  he  was  then  alive.  It  will  be 
observed,  therefore,  that  the  Bodleian  MS.  is  not  only  the 
earliest  MS.  known,  but  is  one  of  the  very  few  which  are  complete 
in  themselves,  and  do  not  form  part  of  collections  in  bdydz  or 
commonplace  books.  There  are  a considerable  number  of 
later  MSS.  in  various  public  libraries,  in  which  the  number 
of  the  quatrains  is  swelled  by  the  addition  of  a vast  number 
which  are  for  the  most  part  either  variants  of  those  in  the 
earlier  MSS.,  or  firank  repetitions  of  one  another,^  until 
we  arrive  at  the  comparatively  modern  Cambridge  MS., 
in  which  the  ruba’iyat  reach  the  alarming  total  of  801. 

I.  I have  found  quatrains  repeated  even  in  the  Paris  MS.  of  a.h.  934 
{e.g.,  qq.  154  and  172). 


Introduction 


XI 


Of  these  the  most  valuable  and  interesting  is,  I think, 
the  MS.  No.  1548  in  the  Bengal  Asiatic  Society’s  Library 
at  Calcutta,  and  it  is  especially  interesting  to  English  students 
as  having  been  the  principal  other  authority  consulted  by 
Professor  Cowell  when  writing  his  article  in  the  Calcutta 
Review,  and  used  by  Edward  FitzGerald  in  the  construction 
of  his  poem.  Professor  Cowell  has  kindly  placed  his  copy  of 
this  MS.  at  my  disposal  for  the  purposes  of  this  work.  (Vide 
Terminal  Essay,  p.  296.)  At  the  moment  that  the  first 
edition  was  leaving  the  press,  I received  through  the  courtesy 
and  pains  of  Mr.  A.  S.  Pringle,  Director  of  Indian  Records  in 
the  Home  Department  at  Calcutta,  a copy  of  a very  impor- 
tant MS.  once  the  property  of  one  Maulavi  Khuda  Baksh 
Khan  Bahadur,  by  whom  it  had  been  presented  to  the  public 
library  at  Bankipur.  It  forms  (as  usual)  part  of  a collection 
of  literary  extracts,  written  by  two  Indian  scribes  in  the  year 
961  A.H.  It  contains  604  ruba’iyat,  of  which  81  are  not  to 
be  found  in  any  of  the  MSS.  and  other  collections  noted  in 
my  Bibliographical  References  (p.  115).  It  will  be  observed 
therefore  that,  for  its  age,  this  is  the  largest  collection  that 
has  hitherto  been  found,  and,  on  account  of  the  large  number 
of  ruba’iyat  not  found  elsewhere,  one  of  the  most  important. 
It  will  also  be  remarked  by  the  student  that,  as  a general  rule, 
the  readings  of  this  MS.  are  identical  with  those  of  the 
Bodleian  MS.,  even  when  all  other  texts  are  at  variance  with 
it,  and  that  the  meaning  is  more  clear  in  this  MS.  than  in 
any  other  under  consideration.  There  are  over  40  ruba’iyat 
in  the  Bodleian  MS.  that  are  not  in  this  MS.,  so  that  these 
two  alone  give  us  nearly  650  ruba’iyat,  of  a date  not  later 
than  1553  A.p. 

Scarcely  less  important  than  the  MSS.  are  the  litho- 
graphed editions  of  Teheran,  Calcutta,  Lucknow,  Bombay, 
and  Tabriz,  firom  the  first  of  which  Mons.  Nicolas  made 
his  printed  text,^  and  from  the  last  of  which  Professor 

1.  It  would  ill-*bes&em  me  to  criticise  adversely  so  valuable  and  in  many 
respects  scholarly  a work  as  that  of  Mons.  Nicolas,  but  it  must  be  admitted  that 
the  accuracy  of  his  translation,  in  many  places,  leaves  much  to  be  desired. 
Where  the  meaning  is  more  than  ordinarily  obscure,  he  generally  shirks  the 


Introduction 


xii 


Schuchovsky,  of  St.  Petersburg,  made  his  lithographed 
edition.^  These  will  be  found  duly  noted  in  the  Biblio- 
graphical References  (p.  115),  and  in  the  Bibliography 
(p.  281).  For  the  European  student  the  text  and  translation 
of  Mons.  Nicolas  is  probably  the  best,  though  as  a text 
alone,  that  of  Mr.  Whinfield,  issued  by  Messrs.  Triibner  in 
1883,  is  unsurpassed.  This  text  Mr.  Whinfield  framed  from 
a comparison  of  the  Bodleian,  the  Calcutta,  and  the  two 
India  Office  MSS.,  the  Calcutta  and  Lucknow  lithographs, 
and  the  printed  editions  of  MM.  Blochmann  and  Nicolas, 
It  may  seem  churlish  to  look  so  valuable  a text  in  the  foot- 
notes (so  to  speak),  but  regard  being  had  to  the  very  great 
diversities  existing  in  the  various  texts,  it  is  a great  pity 
that  Mr.  Whinfield  did  not  pursue  a system  of  numbering 
the  quatrains  in  his  authorities,  and  so  save  the  conscientious 
student  a world  of  troublesome  labour,®  A very  interesting 
collection  of  quatrains  attributed  to  Omar  is  included  in  that 
pantheon  of  Persian  poetry,  the  Atash  Kadah  of  Hajji  Lutf 
Ali  Beg  of  Isfahan,  known  as  Azr,  a collection  numbering 
thirty-one  quatrains,  of  which  ten  are  represented  in  the 


translation  and  merely  gives  the  intention  of  the  original,  and  the  assistance  that 
Mr.  McCarthy  would  seem,  from  internal  evidence,  to  have  derived  from  Mons. 
Nicolas’s  translation,  has  caused  the  same  observation  to  be  applicable  to  his  prose 
rendering.  Mons.  Nicolas  was  essentially  a Sufi,  and  dragged  in  Sufistic  interpre- 
tations wherever  he  could,  attributing  a mystic  or  divine  interpretation  to  Omar’s 
most  obviously  materialistic  passages,  by  way  of  apology  for  the  '*  sensualite 
quelquefois  r§voltante,”  which  has  passed  into  a proverb  among  students  of  Omar. 
Edward  FitzGerald  dealt  at  length  with  this  amiable  weakness  (if  one  may  so  call 
it)  in  the  preface  to  his  second  and  subsequent  editions.  The  reader  is  referred 
to  Nicolas’s  note  5 on  p.  105,  note  5 on  p.  143,  note  i on  p.  170,  note  4 on  p.  171, 
and  note  2 on  p.  183  of  his  translation,  to  quote  only  five  out  of  a great  number  of 
such  notes.  The  two  last  refer  to  qq.  128  and  137  of  the  Bodleian  quatrains. 


Ul  ..I 

sr*'i  jo  — cjjUst 


2.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  the  MSS.  and  lithographs  the 
ruba'iyat  are  never  numbered,  and  when  in  the  course  of  this  volume  I refer  to 
them  by  numbers,  it  must  be  understood  that  I am  referring  to  numbers  I have 
myself  affixed  in  my  copies  to  simplify  the  work  of  reference.  Thus,  therefore, 
if  Mr.  Whinfield  had  numbered  his  Lucknow  lithograph  (for  instance)  his 
numbers  would  differ  from  mine,  as  I have  used  a later  edition,  containing  more 
ruba’iyat  than  his. 


Introduction 


xiii 


Bodleian  MS.^  and  twenty-one  are  of  different,  and  probably 
later,  origin.®  The  Paris  MS.  of  this  work  has  already  been 
referred  to.  Azr  was  not  born  until  a.d.  1722,  and  his 
"new”  quatrains  are  as  a whole  very  inferior  to  those  in 
this  MS.  Everything,  therefore,  seems  to  point  to  the  fact 
that  the  quatrains  have  been  multiplied  in  every  succeeding 
MS.  by  unscrupulous  scribes,  who  boldly  repeated  quatrains, 
with  or  without  slight  variations,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  they 
were  probably  paid  “by  the  piece”;  by  religious  objectors,  who 
either  altered  quatrains  to  suit  their  own  views,  or  added  new 
ones  to  answer  quatrains  to  which  they  especially  objected; 
and  by  editors  who  have  sought  to  give  their  work  the  im- 
portance of  mere  bulk. 

Thus  Mr.  Whinfield’s  copy  of  the  Lucknow  lithograph, 
printed  in  1868,  contains  716  quatrains,  th'e'edition  of  1878  con- 
tains 763,  and  my  own  copy,  a re-issue  lithographed  in  1894, 
contains  770.  Mrs.  Jessie  E.  Cadeljj  who  made  the  quatrains 
of  Omar  Khayyam  a principal  study  of  her  regrettably  short 
life,  and  published  the  results  of  her  labours  in  Fraser’s 
Magazine  (May,  1879),  collated  all  the  authorities  to  be  found 
in  public  libraries  in  Europe,  and  found  over  twelve  hundred 
distinct  quatrains  attributed  to  him.  I have  attempted  a 
catalogue  of  authorities  available  to  the  student  in  the  Biblio- 
graphical Appendix.  Passons  outre. 


A history  of  this  poem  in  its  most  widely  accepted 
European  dress  must  necessarily  partake  largely  of  the  nature 
of  a Bibliographical  Essay,  which  would  take  us  beyond 
the  purpose  of  an  Introduction.  A few  words  on  the  subject 
are,  however,  permissible  in  this  place.  The  first  Persian 
scholar  to  introduce  Omar  Kha37^i,m  to  European  readers  was 

t.  These  are  Nos.  9,  47,  TJ,  6s,  i,  103,  102,  109,  136,  and  135.  For  fear 
of  overburdening  my  work  with  variant  readings  I have  not  compared  these  with 
the  Bodleian  MS.  quatrains  in  the  following  pages. 

2.  The  editions  of  18O0  and  1881,  lithographed  by  Fath-al-Kirim,  at 
Bombay,  contain  42  quatrains,  of  which  13  are  represented  in  the  Bodleian  MS. 
The  extra  ii  quatrains  are  evidently  recently  added  to  the  collection. 


XIV 


Introduction 


Dr.  Thomas  Hyde,  Regius  Professor  of  Hebrew  and  Arabic  at 
Oxford,  who,  in  his  '‘Veterum  Persarum  et  Parthorum,  et 
Medorum  religionis  historia”  (Oxford,  1700,  2nd  edition,  1760), 
recounts  the  story  of  the  apparition  of  Omar,  after  his  death, 
to  his  mother,  and  his  recital  of  the  well-known  quatrain  to 
her  (vide  post,  note  to  q.  i).  The  first  to  make  an  extended 
study  of  the  quatrains  was  Von  Hammer-Purgstall,  who,  in 
his  “ Geschichte  der  schonen  Redekiinste  Persiens"  (Vienna, 
1818),  gave  verse- translations  of  twenty-five  quatrains,  but 
does  not  state  from  what  MS.  he  translated.  Friedrich 
Riickert,  who  died  in  1866,  included  two  quatrains  in  his 

Perser’’  (published  at 
Gotha  in  1874),  3-nd  Sh  Gore  Ouseley.  gave  the  same  number 
in  his  “ Biographical^Notices^of  Persian  Poets  (London, 
1846),  one  of  which  was  q,  89,  post.  Save  for  the  pamphlet 
in  which  Garcin  de  Tassy,  in  1857,  forestalled  FitzGerald,  from 
materials  derived  from  him,  this  brings  us  to  the  time  when 
Omar  was  taken  in  hand  by  Professor  Cowell  and  Edward 
FitzGerald. 

It  will  not,  I think,  be  uninteresting  to  gather  from  the 
letters  written  by  Edward  FitzGerald  to  his  friends,  and 
recently  published  by  Messrs.  Macmillan,^  his  own  account  of 
the  Persian  studies  that  culminated  in  the  production  of 
the  poem  by  which,  it  may  fairly  be  said,  the  Ruba’iyat  of 
Omar  Kha3^am  became  known  to  European  readers.^  In 
1845  it  is  clear  that  he  had  no  leaning  towards  oriental  sub- 
jects; indeed,  in  a letter  to  Frederick  Tennyson  (6th  February, 
1845)  he  says  : 


I.  Letters  of  Edward  FitzGerald  ” (edited  by  W.  Aldis  Wright). 
(Macmillan),  1894.  2 vols.  Extracted  from  L.  R. 


London 


tiir  ■ ^ ^ place,  to  record  my  sincere  thanks  to  Mr.  Aldis 

right  Md  Messrs.  Macmillan  for  their  permission,  readily  granted  me,  to 
re^nt  the  following  voluminous  extracts  from  their  publication.  Their  edition 
ot  FitzGerald’s  works,  referred  to  throughout  this  work  as  “ L.  R..”  is  indispensable 
to  the  studtot  of  the  poem,  for  all  FitzGerald's  work  was  more  or  less  tinged 
by  his  studies  of  Omar  Khayyam. 


Introduction 


XV 


Eliot  Warburton  has  written  an  Oriental  book.^  Ye  Gods  I 
In  Shakespeare’s  day  the  nuisance  was  the  Monsieur  Travellers 
who  had  “ swum  in  a gundello,”  but  now  the  bores  are  those  who 
have  smoked  Tschihouqms  with  a Peshaw  ! 

Early  in  1846,  however,  we  find  him  writing  to  his  friend 
E.  B.  Cowell  (now  Professor  of  Sanskrit  at  the  University  of 
Cambridge) : 

Your  is  fine;®  and  his  tavern  world  is  a sad  and  just 

idea.  ...  It  would  be  a good  work  to  give  us  some  of  the  good 
things  of  Hafi^:  and  the  Persians;  of  bulbuls  and  ghuls  we  have 
had  enough. 

Two  years  later  he  writes  to  Cowell  (25th  January,  1848) : 

Ten  years  ago  I might  have  been  vext  to  see  you  striding 
along  in  Sanskrit  and  Persian  so  fast;  reading  so  much;  remem- 
bering all;  writing  about  it  so  well.  But  now  I am  glad  to  see 
any  man  do  anything  well,  and  I know  that  it  is  my  vocation  to 
stand  and  wait  and  know  within  myself  whether  it  is  well  done. 

In  answer  to  some  queries  about  FitzGerald’s  early  Persian 
studies,  Professor  Cowell  writes  me  as  follows  (21st  October, 
1896) : 

Edward  P'itzGerald  began  to  read  Persian  with  me  in  1853 ; he 
read  Jones’s  Grammar,^  which  exactly  suited  him,  as  its  examples  of 
the  values  are  always  beautiful  lines  of  poetry  from  Hafia,  Sadi,  &c, 

FitzGerald  himself  records  the  matter  in  his  Letters,  thus, 
to  Cowell  (25th  October,  1853) : 

I have  ordered  Eastwick’s  Gulistan;*  for  I believe  I shall 
potter  out  so  much  Persian.  The  weak  Apologue  goes  on,®  for  I 
have  not  had  time  for  much  here,®  and  I find  it  difficult  enough 
even  with  Jones’s  Translation. 

X.  '*The  Crescent  and  the  Cross,  or  Romance  and  Realities  of  Eastern 
Travel."  London,  1B45,  2 vols.  i2mo. 

2.  This  refers  to  certain  translations  of  selected  Odes  of  Hafiz,  by 
Cowell,  which  he  sent  t6  FitzGerald  to  read.  They  were  subsequently  incor- 
porated by  him  in  an  article  upon  Hafiz,  and  published  anonymously  in 
Fmtf's  Magazine  for  September,  1854. 

3.  A Grammar  of  the  Persian  Language,"  by  Sir  William  Jones.  London, 
177X.  7th  edition,  London,  1809. 

4.  An  early  edition  of  the  translation  cited  in  the  Bibliographical  Re- 
ferences (p.  115). 

5.  '*The  Gardener  and  the  Nightingale " in  Sir  William  Jones’s  Persian 
Grammar, 

6.  Richmond,  Surrey. 


XVI 


Introduction 


Later  (27th  December,  1853)  he  writes  to  F,  Tennyson : 

I also  amuse  myself  with  poking  out  some  Persian  which 
E.  Cowell  would  inaugurate  me  with;  I go  on  with  it  because  it  is 
a point  in  common  with  him  and  enables  us  to  study  a little  together. 

After  mastering  the  rudiments,  FitzGerald  first  addressed 
himself  seriously  to  Jami’s  poem  of  Salaman  and  Absal ; 
Professor  Cowell  tells  me  [loc,  cit,) : 

I read  Jamfs  Salaman  and  Absal  with  him  at  Oxford  in 
1S54  and  *55,  which  he  translated  and  published  in  1856.  J.  W. 
Parker  and  Son  were  the  publishers.^  The  Life  of  Jami  appeared 
in  that  volume. 

Accordingly,  we  find  FitzGerald  writing  to  Cowell  in  1853, 
in  reply  to  a letter  concerning  Hafiz: 

Any  such  translation  of  such  a writer  as  by  you  into 

pure,  sweet  and  partially  measured  prose 2 must  be  better  than 
what  I am  doing  for  Jami,  whose  ingenuous  prattle  I am  stilting 
into  too  Miltonic  verse.  This  I am  very  sure  of.  But  it  is  done. 

In  the  earliest  days  of  1856  the  translation  of  Salaman 
and  Absal  was  for  practical  purposes  complete,  and  FitzGerald 
writes  to  Cowell : 

I send  you  a sketch  of  Jami’s  Life,  which  cut,  correct  and 
annotate  as  you  like.  Where  there  was  so  little  to  tell,  I have 
brought  in  all  the  fine  names  and  extra  bits  I could  to  give  it  a 
little  sparkle.  There  is  very  little  after  all ; I have  spread  it  over 
paper  to  give  you  room  to  note  upon  it.  Only  take  care  not  to 
lose  either  these  or  yesterday’s  papers,  for  my  terror  at  going  over 
the  ground. 

You  must  put  in  the  corrected  Notice  about  the  Sultan 
Hussein,  both  in  the  Memoir  and  in  the  Note  to  the  Poem.  The 
latter  will  have  room  for  at  least  four  (I  think  five)  lines  of  note 
type,  which  you  must  fill,  and  not  overflow : “ Strong  without 
rage,”  etc. 

I feel  guilty  at  taking  up  your  time  and  thoughts,  and  also  at 
dressing  myself  so  in  your  plumes.  But  I mean  to  say  a word  about 
this,  (jxovavra  truveToitrtv,  in  my  Preliminary  Notice;  and  would 
gladly  dedicate  the  little  book  to  you  by  name,  with  due  acknow- 
ledgment, did  I think  the  world  would  take  it  for  a compliment  to 
you.  But  though  I like  the  version,  and  you  like  it,  we  know  very 

1.  ‘‘  Salaman  and  Absal.  an  Allegory.”  Translated  from  the  Persian  of 
Jami.  London,  1856.  A reprint  of  this  edition  was  made  in  1871  by  Cowell 
and  Sons,  of  Ipswich.  The  original  was  printed  by  Messrs.  Childs,  of  Bungay. 

2.  This  evidently  refers  to  the  article  upon  Hafiz  cited  in  note  2,  p.  xv, 


Introduction 


xvii 


well  the  world— even  the  very  little  world,  I mean,  who  will  see  it— 
may  not;  and  might  laugh  at  us  both  for  any  such  compliment. 
They  cannot  laugh  at  your  scholarship ; but  they  might  laugh  at 
the  use  I put  it  to,  and  at  my  dedicating  a cobweb  (as  Carlyle 
called  Maud  the  other  night)  to  you. 

FitzGerald  was  evidently  desirous  of  seeing  his  first 
oriental  translation  in  print,  for  a few  days  later  (loth 
February,  1856)  he  writes  further  to  Cowell,  as  follows: 

I sent  you  a string  of  questions  about  Salamiin  last  week,  all 
of  which  I did  not  want  you  to  answer  at  once,  but  wishing  at 
least  to  hear  if  you  had  leisure  and  inclination  to  meddle  with 
them.  There  is  no  reason  in  the  world  you  should,  unless  you 
really  have  time  and  liking.  If  you  have,  I will  send  you  the 
proofs  of  the  little  book  which  Mr.  Childs  is  even  now  putting  in 
hand.  Pray  let  me  know  as  soon  as  you  can  what,  and  how 
much,  of  this  will  be  agreeable  to  you. 

You  don’t  tell  me  how  Hafiz  gets  on.  There  is  one  thing 
which  I think  I find  in  SalamCln  which  may  be  worth  your  con- 
sideration (not  needing  much)  in  Hafiz : namely,  in  Translation  to 
retain  the  original  Persian  names  as  much  as  possible — Shah  ” 
for  “ King,”  for  instance,  **  Ydsuf  and  Suleyman”  for  “Joseph  and 
Solomon,”  etc.  The  Persian  is  not  only  more  musical,  but  removes 
such  words  and  names  further  from  Europe  and  European  preju- 
dices and  associations.  So  also  I think  best  to  talk  of  “ a moon  ” 
rather  than  “a  month,”  and  perhaps  “sennight”  is  better  than 
“ week.” 

This  is  a little  matter,  but  it  is  well  to  rub  off  as  little  Oriental 
colour  as  possible. 

As  to  a notice  of  J ami’s  Life,  you  need  not  trouble  yourself  to 
draw  it  up  unless  you  like,  since  I can  make  an  extract  of 
Ouseley’s,^  and  send  you  for  any  addition  or  correction  you  like. 

This  is  the  notice  of  Jaml’s  life  referred  to  by  Professor 
Cowell  in  his  letter  to  me.  It  was  immediately  after  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Salaman  and  Absal  in  1856  that  Mr.  Cowell 
was  appointed  Professor  of  History  at  the  Presidency  College 
in  Calcutta,  whither  he  went  in  August,  1856.  In  a letter 
written  to  him  (22nd  January,  1857)  FitzGerald  says : 

I have  read  really  little  except  Persian  since  you  went;  and 
yet,  from  want  of  eyes,  not  very  much  of  that.  I have  gone  care- 
fully over  two-thirds  of  Hifiz  again  with  Dictionary  and  Von 

1.  Sir  Gore  Ouseley.  “ Bibliographical  Notices  of  the  Persian  Poets." 

London,  184C.  P.  131,  No.  g,  “ Jaml." 

G 


XVlll 


Introduction 


Hammer;^  and  gone  on  with  Jami  and  Nizami.  But  my  great 
performance  all  Hes  in  the  last  live  weeks  since  I have  been  alone 
here;  when  I wrote  to  Napoleon  Newton®  to  ask  him  to  lend  me 
his  MS.  of  Attar’s  Mantic  nt  tair;  and,  with  the  help  of  Garcin  de 
Tassy,  have  nearly  made  out  about  two-thirds  of  it.  For  it  has 
greatly  interested  me,  though  I confess  it  is  always  an  old  story. 


On  the  I2th  March,  1857,  FitzGerald  writes  to  Cowell: 

To-day  I have  been  writing  twenty  pages  of  a metrical  sketch 
of  the  Mantic,  for  such  uses  as  I told  you  of.  It  is  an  amusement 
to  me  to  take  what  liberties  I like  with  these  Persians,  who  (as  I 
think)  are  not  poets  enough  to  frighten  one  from  such  excursions, 
and  who  really  do  want  a little  art  to  shape  them.  I don’t  speak 
of  Jelaleddin,®  whom  I know  so  little  of  (enough  to  show  me  that 
he  is  no  great  artist,  however),  nor  of  Hafiz,  whose  best  is  untrans- 
latable, because  he  is  the  best  musician  of  words.  Old  Johnson 
said  the  poets  were  the  best  preservers  of  a language;  for  people 
must  go  to  the  original  to  relish  them,  I am  sure  that  what 
Tennyson  said  to  you  is  true:  that  Hafiz  is  the  most  Eastern— or, 
he  should  have  said  most  Persian— of  the  Persians.  He  is  the 
best  representative  of  their  character,  whether  his  Saki  and  Wine 
be  real  or  mystical.  Their  religion  and  philosophy  is  soon  seen 
through,  and  always  seems  to  me  cuckooed  over  like  a borrowed 
thing,  which  people,  once  having  got,  don’t  know  how  to  parade 
enough.  To  be  sure  their  Roses  and  Nightingales  are  repeated 
enough;  but  Hafiz  and  old  Omar  Khayyam  ring  like  true  metal 
The  philosophy  of  the  latter  is,  alas  i one  that  never  fails  in  the 
world.  “ To-day  is  ours,”  etc. 

While  I think  of  it,  why  is  the  sea  (in  that  Apologue  of  Attdr 
once  quoted  by  Falconer)  supposed  to  have  lost  God  ? Did  the 
Persians  agree  with  something  I remember  in  Plato  about  the  sea 
and  all  in  it  being  an  inferior  nature?  in  spite  of  Homer’s  “ Divine 
Ocean,”  etc. 

This  idea  appears  to  have  struck  FitzGerald  so  much  that 
he  introduced  it  into  the  33rd  stanza  of  his  Omar.  Professor 
Cowell,  -writing  on  the  subject  to  Mr.  Aldis  Wright,  says : 

1.  Joseph  von  Hammer,  ‘‘Der  Diwan  von  Mohammed  Schemsed-din 
Hafis”  . . .iibersetzt  von  J.von  H.  Stuttgart,  1812,  2 vols.  i2mo. 

2.  Vide  note  i,  p.  xxvi.,  post.  The  influence  which  this  study  of  the 
Mantik  ut  tair  had  upon  Fitzgerald's  paraphrase  of  the  ruba’iyat  will  be  seen 
in  the  notes  to  the  translation 

3.  More  than  one  critic  has  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  so  careful  a 
scholar  as  FitzGerald  should  have  given  this  mistransliteration  of  the  name  of 
Jalal-ud-din  Ruml. 


Introduction 


XIX 


I well  remember  showing  it  to  Fitzgerald,  and  reading  it  with 
him  in  his  early  Persian  days  at  Oxford  in  1855.  I laughed  at  the 
quaintness;  but  the  idea  seized  his  imagination  from  the  first,  and 
like  Virgil  with  Ennius’s  rough  jewels,  his  genius  detected  gold 
where  I had  only  seen  tinsel.  He  has  made  two  grand  lines  out  of  it.^ 

FitzGerald’s  correspondence  with  Garcin  de  Tassy  would 
appear  to  have  commenced  about  this  period,  and  on  the 
29th  March,  1857,  he  writes  to  Cowell,  in  a letter  referring 
to  other  oriental  translations : 

Well;  and  I have  had  a note  from  Garcin  de  Tassy,  whom  I 
had  asked  if  he  knew  of  any  copy  of  Omar  Khayyam  in  all  the 
Paris  libraries ; he  writes : “ I have  made  by  means  of  a friend,” 
etc.  But  I shall  enclose  his  note  to  amuse  you.  N ow  what  I mean 
to  do  is,  in  return  for  his  politeness  to  me,  to  copy  out  as  well  as 
I can  the  Tetrastichs  as  you  copied  them  for  me,  and  send  them 
as  a present  to  De  Tassy.  Perhaps  he  will  edit  them.  I should  not 
wish  him  to  do  so  if  there  were  any  chance  of  your  ever  doing  it ; 
but  I don’t  think  you  will  help  on  the  old  Pantheist,  and  De  Tassy 
really,  after  what  he  is  doing  for  the  Mantic,  deserves  to  make  the 
acquaintance  of  this  remarkable  little  fellow.  Indeed,  I think 
you  will  be  pleased  that  I should  do  this.  Now  for  some  more 
iEschylus. 

Friday^  April  lyth, — I have  been  for  the  last  five  days  with  my 
brother  at  Twickenham;  during  which  time  I really  copied  out 
Omar  Khayyam,  in  a way  I and  shall  to-day  post  it  as  a “ cadeau” 
to  Garcin  de  Tassy  in  return  for  his  courtesy  to  me.  I am  afraid 
a bad  return;  for  my  MS.  is  but  badly  written,  and  it  would 
perhaps  more  plague  than  profit  an  English  ^‘savant”  to  have 
such  a present  made  him.  But  a Frenchman  gets  over  all  this 
very  lightly.  Garcin  de  Tassy  tells  me  he  has  printed  four 
thousand  lines  of  the  Mantic. 

/ 

And  in  a letter  enclosed  in  this  one  for  Mrs.  Cowell, 
he  says: 

You  may  give  him  (t.«,  E.  B.  C.)  the  enclosed  instead  of  a 
former  letter  from  the  same  G.  de  T.  For  is  it  not  odd  he  should 
not  have  time  to  read  a dozen  of  those  150  tetrastichs  ? I pointed 
out  such  a dozen  to  him  of  the  best,  and  told  him  if  he  liked  them, 
I would  try  and  get  the  rest  better  written  for  him  than  I could 
write.  I had  also  told  him  that  the  whole  thing  came  from 
E.  B C.,  and  I now  write  to  tell  him  I have  no  sort  of  intention  of 

I,  The  first  two  lines  of  F.  v.  33. 

c — 2 


XX 


Introduction 


writing  a paper  in  the  Journal  Asiatiquct'^  nor  I suppose  E.  B.  C. 
neither ; G.  de  Tassy  is  very  civil  to  me,  however. 

Wednesday,  April  Z2nd, — Now  this  morning  comes  a second 
letter  from  Garcin  de  Tassy,  saying  that  his  first  note  about  Omar 
Khayyam  was  “in  haste,”  that  he  had  read  some  of  the  tetrastichs, 
which  he  finds  not  very  difficult — some  difficulties  which  are  pro- 
bably errors  of  the  “ copist  ” ; and  he  proposes  his  writing  an 
article  in  the  Journal  Asiatique  on  it,  in  which  he  will  “honourably 
mention”  E.  B.  C.  and  E.  F.  G.  I now  write  to  deprecate  all 
this,  putting  it  on  the  ground  (and  a fair  one)  that  we  do  not 
yet  know  enough  of  the  matter;  that  I do  not  wish  E.  B.  C.  to  be 
made  answerable  for  errors  which  E.  F.  G.  (the  “copist”)  may 
have  made;  and  that  E.  F.  G.  neither  merits  nor  desires  any 
honourable  mention  as  a Persian  scholar,  being  none.® 

In  the  following  month  (7th  May,  1857)  he  writes  to 
Cowell  : 

To-day  I have  a note  from  the  great  De  Tassy,  which  an- 
nounces: “ My  dear  Sir, — Definitively  I have  written  a little  paper 
upon  Omar,  with  some  quotations  taken  here  and  there  at  random, 
avoiding  only  the  too  badly-sounding  Rubaiyat.  I have  read  that 
paper  before  the  Persian  Ambassador  and  suite,  at  a meeting  of 
the  Oriental  Society,  of  which  I am  Vice-President,  the  Due  de 
Doudeauville  being  President.  The  Ambassador  has  been  much 
pleased  with  my  quotations.”  So  you  see  I have  done  the  part  of  an 
ill  subject  in  helping  France  to  ingratiate  herself  with  Persia  when 
England  might  have  had  the  start.  I suppose  it  probable  Ferukh 
Khan  himself  had  never  read  or  perhaps  heard  of  Omar.  I think 
I told  you  in  my  last  that  I had  desired  De  Tassy  to  say  nothing 
about  you  in  any  paper  he  should  write ; since  I cannot  have  you 
answerable  for  any  blunders  I may  have  made  in  my  copy,  nor 
may  you  care  to  be  named  with  Omar  at  all.  I hope  the  French- 
man will  attend  to  my  desire ; and  I dare  say  he  will,  as  he  will 
then  have  all  credit  to  himself.  He  says  he  cannot  make  out  the 
metre  of  the  Rubaiyat  at  all,  never  could,  though  “ I am  enough 
skilful  in  scanning  the  Persian  verses,  as  you  have  seen”  (Qy.)  “in 
my  Prosody  of  the  Languages  of  Mussulman  Countries,”  etc.  So 
much  for  De  Tassy. 

And  in  a continuation  of  the  above  letter,  dated  June  5th, 
FitzGerald  says : 

1,  The  Journal  of  the  (London)  Asiatic  Society  is  here  referred  to;'  not 
the  Journal  Asiatique  of  the  Paris  Society,  in  which  De  Tassy's  “ Note’’  was  subse- 
quently published,  Vid^  the  Bibliographical  References  (p.  115). 

2.  Accordingly,  in  G.  de  Tassy’s  pamphlet  and  article  (vide  Bibliography) 
there  is  no  mention  of  E.  B.  C.  or  E,  F.  G.,  the  discovery  of  the  Ruba'iyat  in  the 
Bodleian  appearing  to  be  De  Tassy’s  own. 


Introduction 


XXI’ 


When  in  Bedfordshire,  I put  away  almost  all  books,  except 
Omar  Khayyam,  which  I could  not  help  looking  over  in  a paddock 
covered  with  buttercups  and  brushed  by  a delicious  breeze,  while 
a dainty  racing  filly  of  W.  Browne’s  came  startling  up  to  wonder 
and  sniff  about  me.  “Tempus  est  quo  Orientis,  Aura  mundus 
renovatur,  Quo  de  fonte  pluviali,  dulcis  Imber  reseratur;  Musi- 
mams  undecumque  ramos  insuper  splendescit,  J&su-spiritusqm 
salutaris  terram  pervagatur,”^  which  is  to  be  read  as  Monkish 
Latin,  like  “Dies  Irae,”  etc.,  retaining  the  Italian  value  of  the 
vowels,  not  the  classical.  You  will  think  me  a perfectly  Aristo- 
phanic  old  man  when  I tell  you  how  many  of  Omar  I could  not 
help  running  into  such  bad  Latin.^  I should  not  confide  such 
follies  but  to  you,, who  won’t  think  them  so,  and  who  will  be  pleased 
at  least  with  my  still  harping  on  our  old  studies.  You  would  be 
sorry,  too,  to  think  that  Omar  breathes  a sort  of  consolation  to  mel 
Poor  fellow;  I think  of  him  and  Oliver  Basselin*  and  Anacreon; 
lighter  shadows  among  the  shades,  perhaps,  over  which  Lucretius 
presides  so  grimly. 

Thursday^  Jime  nth. — ^Your  letter  of  April  is  come  to  hand,  very 
welcome;  and  I am  expecting  the  MS.  Omar,  which  I have  written 
about  to  London.^  And  now  with  respect  to  your  proposed  Fraser 
Paper  on  Omar.  You  see,  a few  lines  back,  I talk  of  some  lazy 
Latin  versions  of  his  Tetrastichs,  giving  one  clumsy  example.  Now 
I shall  rub  up  a few  more  of  those  I have  sketched  in  the  same 
manner,  in  order  to  see  if  you  approve. 

The  letter  breaks  off  abruptly  at  this  point,  but  is  con- 
tinued on  the  23rd  of  June: 

Jum  z^rd. — I begin  another  letter  because  I am  looking  into 
the  Omar  MS.  you  have  sent  me,  and  shall  perhaps  make  some 
notes  and  enquiries  as  I go  on.  I had  not  intended  to  do  so  till  I 
had  looked  all  over  and  tried  to  make  out  what  I could  of  it;  since 
it  is  both  pleasant  to  oneself  to  find  out  for  oneself  if  possible,  and 


1.  Vide  Ruba’i  No.  13,  post. 

2.  Mr.  Herbert  W.  Greene,  of  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  has  completed 
this  task,  and  turned  FitzGerald's  Omar  into  a most  elegant  and  charming 
volume  of  elegiacs,  privately  printed  for  him. — Vids  the  Bibliography  (No.  94). 

3.  An  apt  illustration  of  the  extent  and  breadth  of  FitzGerald’s  reading. 
Many  of  Omar’s  quatrains  must  have  reminded  him  of  Olivier  Basselin's  line 
(Vaux  de  Vire,  xvii,),  “ L^s  morts  ne  boivent  plus  dedans  la  sepulture."  I am 
surprised  that  the  analogy  between  Omar  and  Herrick  never  seems  to  have 
struck  FitzGerald.  Compare  with  this,  for  instance,  Herrick’s  " Anacreontike  " 
(Hesperides) : 

Born  I was  to  be  old,  But  before  that  day  comes. 

And  for  to  die  here : Still  I be  Bousing ; 

After  that,  in  the  mould  For  1 know,  in  the  Tombs 

Long  for  to  lye  here.  There's  no  Carousing. 

Several  such  analogies  are  cited  in  the  notes  to  the  quatrains. 

4.  The  copy  of  the  MS.  in  the  Bengal  Asiatic  Society’s  Library  at  Calcutta 
to  which  I have  referred  above. 


XXll 


Introduction 


also  saves  trouble  lo  oiie*s  friends.  But  yet  it  will  keep  me  talking 
with  you  as  I go  along;  and  if  I find  I say  silly  things  or  clear  up 
difficulties  for  myself  before  I close  my  letter  (which  has  a month 
to  be  open  ini),  why,  I can  cancel  or  amend,  so  as  you  will  see  the 
whole  process  of  blunder.  I think  this  MS.  furnishes  some  oppor- 
tunities for  one’s  critical  faculties,  and  so  is  a good  exercise  for 
them,  if  one  wanted  suchl  ...  I must  also  tell  you  that  Borrow ^ 
is  greatly  delighted  with  your  MS.  of  Omar,  which  I showed  him; 
delighted  at  the  terseness,  so  unusual  in  Oriental  verse.  But  his 
eyes  are  apt  to  cloud;  and  his  wife  has  been  obliged,  he  tells  me, 
to  carry  off  even  the  little  Omar  out  of  reach  of  them  for  a while. 

On  July  1st  he  adds: 

July  ist, — ^June  over  1 A thing  I think  of  with  Omar  like  sorrow. 
And  the  roses  here  are  blowing — and  going — as  abundantly  as  even 
in  Persia.  I am  still  at  Geldestone,  and  still  looking  at  Omar  by 
an  open  window,  which  gives  over  a greener  landscape  than  yours. 

His  letters  to  Cowell  at  this  period  largely  partake  of  the 
nature  of  journals.  On  July  13th,  1857,  he  writes : 

By  to-morrow  I shall  have  finished  my  first  Physiognomy  of 
Omar,  whom  I decidedly  prefer  to  any  Persian  I have  yet  seen, 
unless  perhaps  Salaman. 

Tu&sdayf  July  i/^fL — Here  is  the  anniversary  of  our  Adieu  at 
Rushmere.  And  I have  been  (rather  hastily)  getting  to  an  end  of 
my  first  survey  of  the  Calcutta  Omar  by  way  of  counterpart  to  our 
joint  survey  of  the  Ouseley  MS.  then  (on  the  14th  July).  I must 
repeat,  I am  sure  this  Calcutta  Omar  is,  in  the  same  proportion 
with  the  Ouseley,  by  as  good  a hand  as  the  Ouseley;  by  as  good  a 
hand,  if  not  Omar’s;  which  I think  you  seemed  to  doubt  if  it  was 
in  one  of  your  letters. 

Have  I previously  asked  you  to  observe  486  ? of  which  I send 
a poor  Sir  W.  Jones’  sort  of  Parody,  which  came  into  my  mind 
walking  in  the  garden  here,  where  the  rose  is  blowing  as  in  Persia. 
And  with  this  poor  little  envoy  my  letter  shall  end.  I will  not  stop 
to  make  the  verse  better. 

I long  for  wine  I oh  Saki  of  my  soul. 

Prepare  thy  song  and  fill  the  morning  bowl. 

For  this  first  summer  month  that  brings  the  rose, 

Takes  many  a Sultan  with  it  as  it  goes.® 

1.  I do  not  know  that  George  Borrow  ever  published  any  translations  from 
the  Persian  beyond  three  odes  in  the  *•  Targuin,”  pp.  5-6.  He  printed  privately 
150  copies  of  a literal  translation  of  the  Jokes  of  the  Hhwaja  Nasr  ed  d!n  Kfendi, 
under  the  title  The  Turkish  Jester,  or  the  Pleasantries  of  Cogia  Nasr  ed  din 
Effendi,  translated  from  the  Turkish  by  George  Borrow."  Ipswich,  18S4. 
W,  Webber. 

2.  Suggested  by  ruba'iyat  which  are  Nos.  118  and  135  in  the  Bodleian 
MS.  The  Calcutta  MS.  contains  ruba’iyat  much  closer  to  E.  F.  G.’s  verse, 
which  became  No.  8 in  Fitzgerald’s  first  edition,  F.  v.  g. 


Inirodtiction 


xxui 


During  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1857,  FitzGerald  would 
appear  to  have  finished  the  first  draft  of  his  translation,  and  in 
a letter,  written  to  Cowell  on  the  8th  December,  1857,  says : 

I have  left  with  Borrow  the  copy  of  the  Mantic  DeTassy  gave 
me ; so  some  days  ago  I bought  another  copy  of  Norgate.  For  you 
must  know  I had  again  taken  up  my  rough  sketch  of  a translation 
which,  such  as  it  is,  might  easily  be  finished.  But  it  is  in  truth  no 
translation,  but  only  the  paraphrase  of  a syllabus  of  the  poem;* 
quite  unlike  the  original  in  style,  too.  But  it  would  give,  I think, 
a fair  proportionate  account  of  the  scheme  of  the  poem.  If  ever  I 
finish  it,  I will  send  it  you.  Well,  then,  in  turning  this  over,  I also 
turned  over  volume  i.  of  Sprenger’s  Catalogue, “ which  I bought 
by  itself  for  6s.  a year  ago.  As  it  contains  all  the  Persian  MSS., 

I supposed  that  would  be  enough  for  me.  I have  been  looking  at 
his  list  of  Attar’s  Poems.  What  a number  1 All,  almost,  much 
made  up  of  Apologms^  in  which  Attar  excels,  I think.  His  stories 
are  better  than  Jami’s;  to  be  sure,  he  gives  more  to  pick  out  of. 
An  interesting  thing  in  the  Mantic  is  the  stories  about  Mahmfid, 
and  these  are  the  best  in  the  book.  I find  I have  got  seven  or 
eight  in  my  brief  extract.  I see  Sprenger  says  Attar  was  born  in 
513,  four  years  before  poor  Omar  Khayyam  died  I He  mentions 
one  of  Attar’s  books,  “The  Book  of  Union,”  Waslat  namah,  which 
seems  to  be  on  the  very  subject  of  the  Apologue  to  the  Peacock’s 
Brag  in  the  Mantic,  line  814  in  De  Tassy.  I suppose  this  is  no 
more  the  orthodox  Mussulman  version  than  it  is  ours.  Sprenger 
also  mentions  as  one  separate  book  what  is  part  of  the  Mantic, 
and  main  part,  the  Haftwady.  Sprenger  says  (p.  350)  how  the 
MSS.  of  Attar  differ  from  one  another. 

And  now  about  old  Omar.  You  talked  of  sending  a paper 
about  him  to  Frasty^  and  I told  you,  if  you  did,  I would  stop  it  till 
I had  made  my  comments.  I suppose  you  have  not  had  time  to 
do  what  you  proposed;  or  are  you  overcome  with  the  flood  of  bad 
Latin  I poured  upon  you?  Well,  don’t  be  surprised  (vexed  you 
won’t  be)  if  I solicit  Fraser  for  room  for  a few  quatrains  in 
English  verse,  however,  with  only  such  an  introduction  as  you 
and  Sprenger  give  me — ^very  short — so  as  to  leave  you  to  say  all 
that  is  scholarly,  if  you  will.  I hope  this  is  not  very  cavalier  of 
me.  But,  in  truth,  I take  old  Omar  rather  more  as  my  property 
than  yours;  he  and  I arc  more  akin,  are  we  not?  You  see  all 
fhis]  Beauty,  but  you  don’t  feel  with  him  in  some  respects  as  I do. 
I think  you  would  almost  feel  obliged  to  leave  out  the  part  of 

X.  This  is  as  terse  a description  as  cpuld  well  be  given  of  his  poem, 
the  Ruba'iyat  of  Omar. 

a.  Vide  fost^  Bibliographical  References  (p.  115),  sub  S. 


XXIV 


Introdiiction 


Hamlet  in  representing  him  to  your  audience,  for  fear  of  mischief. 
Now  I do  not  wish  to  show  Hamlet  at  his  maddest ; but  mad  he 
must  be  shown,  or  he  is  no  Hamlet  at  all.  G.  de  Tassy  eluded  all 
that  was  dangerous,  and  all  that  was  characteristic.  I think  these 
free  opinions  are  less  dangerous  in  an  old  Mahometan  or  an  old 
Roman  (like  Lucretius)  than  when  they  are  returned  to  by  those 
who  have  lived  on  happier  food.  I don’t  know  what  you  will  say 
to  all  this.  However,  I dare  say  it  won’t  matter  whether  I do  the 
paper  or  not,  for  I don’t  believe  they’ll  put  it  in.^  . . . 

I must,  however,  while  I think  of  it,  again  notice  to  you  about 
those  first  Introductory  Quatrains  to  Omar  in  both  the  copies  you 
have  seen,  taken  out  of  their  alphabetical  place,  if  they  be  Omar’s 
own,  evidently  by  way  of  putting  a good  leg  foremost — or  perhaps 
not  his  at  all.  So  that  which  Sprenger  says  begins  the  Oude  MS. 
is,  manifestly,  not  any  Apology  of  Omar’s  own,  but  a Denunciation 
of  him  by  someone  else;  and  is  a sort  of  parody  (in  form  at  least) 
of  Omar’s  own  quatrain  445,®  with  its  indignant  reply  by  the  Sultan,® 

In  January  he  sent  the  manuscript  to  his  publisher,  and 
later  again  to  Parker,  and  on  the  3rd  September,  1858,  he  says 
to  Cowell : 

I have  not  turned  to  Persian  since  the  spring,  but  shall  one 
day  look  back  to  it,  and  renew  my  attack  on  the  “ Seven  Castles,” 
if  that  be  the  name.^  I found  the  Jam!  MS.  at  Rushmere;  and 
there  left  it  for  the  present,  as  the  other  poem  will  be  enough  for 
me  for  my  first  onslaught,  I believe  I will  do  a little  a day,  so  as 
not  to  lose  what  little  knowledge  I had.  As  to  my  Omar,  I gave 
it  to  Parker  in  January,  I think;  he  saying  Fraser  was  agreeable 
to  take  it.  Since  then  I have  heard  no  more;  so  as,  I suppose, 
they  don’t  care  about  it;  and  may  be  quite  right.  Had  I thought 
that  they  would  be  so  long,  however,  I would  have  copied  it  out 
and  sent  it  to  you  and  I will  still  do  so  from  a rough  and  imperfect 
copy  I have  (though  not  now  at  hand),  in  case  they  show  no  signs 
of  printing  me.  My  translation  will  interest  you  from  its  form,  and 
also  in  many  respects  in  its  detail,  very  unliteral  as  it  is.  Many 
quatrains  are  mashed  together  and  something  lost,  I doubt,  of 
Omar’s  simplicity,  which  is  so  much  a virtue  in  him.®  But  there 

1.  This  anticipation,  as  will  presently  be  seen,  was  realised. 

2.  In  the  Calcutta  MS. 

3.  These  are  the  two  quatrains  Nos.  316  and  317  of  Nicolas's  text. 

4.  The  seven  castles  of  Bahram  Gur  alluded  to  by  FitzGerald  in  his  note 
upon  that  hero.  They  were  made  the  subject  of  a well-known  poetical  romance, 
the  Haft  Paikar  of  Nizami,  which  is  the  work  alluded  to  in  the  above  letter. 

5.  Professor  Cowell,  writing  to  me  under  date  31st  December,  1896,  says : 
" You  will  be  able  to  decide  whether  his  first  translation  was  made  from  the 
Oxford  MS.  07Uy»  by  seeing  whether  that  will  account  for  all  the  tetrastichs. 
He  altered  and  added,  but  he  never*  I fancy,  invented  an  entire  tetrastich  of 
his  own." 


Introduction 


XXV 


it  is,  such  as  it  is.  I purposely  said  in  the  very  short  notice  I 
prefixed  to  the  poem  that  it  was  so  short  because  better  infor- 
mation might  be  furnished  in  another  paper  which  I thought  you 
would  undertake.  So  it  rests. 

And  on  the  2nd  November  he  writes  again  to  Cowell: 

As  to  Omar,  I hear  and  see  nothing  of  it  in  Fraser  yet ; and 
so  I suppose  they  don’t  want  it.  I told  Parker  he  might  find  it 
rather  dangerous  among  his  Divines;  he  took  it,  however,  and 
keeps  it.  I really  think  I shall  take  it  back;  add  some  stanzas, 
which  I kept  out  for  fear  of  being  too  strong;  print  fifty  copies 
and  give  away;  one  to  you,  who  won’t  like  it  neither.  Yet  it  is 
most  ingeniously  tesselated  into  a sort  of  Epicurean  eclogue  in 
a Persian  garden. 

On  the  13th  January,  1859,  he  writes  to  Cowell: 

I am  almost  ashamed  to  write  to  you,  so  much  have  I forsaken 
Persian,  and  even  all  good  books  of  late.  There  is  no  one  now  to 
“prick  the  sides  of  my  intent”;  vaulting  ambition  having  long 
failed  to  do  so ! I took  my  Omar  from  Fraser  [?  Parker] , as  I saw 
he  didn’t  care  for  it;  and  also  I want  to  enlarge  it  to  near  as  much 
again  of  such  matter  as  he  would  not  dare  to  put  in  Fraser.  If  I 
print  it,  I shall  do  the  impudence  of  quoting  your  account  of 
Omar,  and  your  apology  for  his  freethinking ; it  is  not  wholly  my 
apology,  but  you  introduced  him  to  me,  and  your  excuse  extends 
to  that  which  you  have  not  ventured  to  quote,  and  I do.  I like 
your  apology  extremely  also,  allowing  its  point  of  view.  I doubt 
you  will  repent  of  ever  having  showed  me  the  book,  I should  like 
well  to  have  the  lithograph  copy  of  Omar  which  you  tell  of  in 
your  note.^  My  translation  has  its  merit,  but  it  misses  a main  one 
in  Omar,  which  I will  leave  you  to  find  out.  The  Latin  versions, 
if  they  were  corrected  into  decent  Latin,  would  be  very  much 
better.  ...  I have  forgotten  to  write  out  for  you  a little  quatrain 
which  Binning  found  written  in  Persepolis ; the  Persian  tourists 
having  the  same  propensity  as  English  to  write  their  names  and 
sentiments  on  their  national  monuments.  This  is  the  quatrain ; 

The  palace  that  to  Heav’n  his  pillars  threw, 

And  kings  the  forehead  on  his  threshold  drew — 

I saw  the  solitary  ring-dove  there, 

And  “ Coo,  COD,  coo,”  she  cried,  and  “Coo,  coo,  coo.”® 

And  on  the  27th  of  April,  having  printed  his  Quatrains,® 
he  wrote  to  Cowell : 

1.  The  Calcutta  edition  of  1836. 

2.  Viie  Robert  B.  M.  Binning,  *‘A  Journal  of  Two  Years'  Travel  in 
Persia,  Ceylon,  etc."  I-ondon,  1857,  vol.  ii„  p.  20. 

3.  The  copy  in  the  Library  of  the  British  Museum  was  received  there 
on  the  30th  March,  1859. 


XXVI 


Introduction 


I sent  you  poor  old  Omar,  who  has  his  kind  of  consolation  for 
all  these  things.  I doubt  you  will  regret  you  ever  introduced  him 
to  me.  And  yet  you  would  have  me  print  the  original,  with  many 
worse  things  than  I have  translated.  The  Bird  Epic  might  be 
finished  at  once;^  but  cui  bono?  No  one  cares  for  such  things, 
and  there  are  doubtless  so  many  better  things  to  care  about.  I 
hardly  know  why  I print  any  of  these  things,  which  nobody  buys ; 
and  I scarce  now  see  the  few  I give  them  to.  But  when  one  has 
done  one’s  best,  and  is  sure  that  that  best  is  better  than  so  many 
will  take  pains  to  do,  though  far  from  the  best  that  might  be  done, 
one  likes  to  make  an  end  of  the  matter  by  print.  I suppose  very 
few  people  have  ever  taken  such  pains  in  translation  as  I have, 
though  certainly  not  to  be  literal.  But  at  all  cost,  a thing  must 
live,  with  a transfusion  of  one’s  own  worse  life  if  one  can’t  retain  the 
originals  better.  Better  a live  sparrow  than  a stuffed  eagle.  I shall 
be  very  well  pleased  to  see  the  new  MS.  of  Omar. 

He  evidently  did  not  look  upon  this  as  the  last  word 
to  be  said  on  the  subject  of  Omar,  for  on  the  7th  December, 
1861,  we  find  him  writing  to  Cowell: 

I shall  look  directly  for  the  passages  in  Omar  and  Hafi:r  which 
you  refer  to  and  clear  up,  though  I scarce  ever  see  the  Persian 
character  now.  I suppose  you  would  think  it  a dangerous  thing 
to  edit  Omar;  else,  who  so  proper?  Nay,  are  you  not  the  only 
man  to  do  it?  And  he  certainly  is  worth  good  re-editing.  I 
thought  him  from  the  first  the  most  remarkable  of  the  Persian 
poets,  and  you  keep  finding  out  in  him  evidences  of  logical  fancy 

I.  This  was  never  printed  in  FitzGerald’s  lifetime.  It  occupies  pp.  433- 
482  of  vol.  ii.  of  the ‘‘Letters  and  Literary  Remains."  The  following  note  by 
Professor  Cowell  is  prefixed  to  it : •'  FitzGerald  was  first  interested  in  ' Attar’s 
Mantik-ut-tair  ’ by  the  extracts  given  in  De  Sacy’s  notes  to  his  edition  of  that 
poet’s  Pand-namah,  and  in  1856  he  began  to  read  the  original  in  a MS.  lent  to 
him  by  Mr.  Newton  of  Hertford.  In  1857,  Garcin  de  Tassy  published  his  edition 
of  the  Persian  text,  of  which  he  had  previously  given  an  analysis  in  his  ' La 
Poesie  philosophique  et  religieuse  chez  les  Persans  ’ ; and  FitzGerald  at  once 
threw  himself  into  the  study  of  it  with  all  his  characteristic  enthusiasm. 
De  Tassy  subsequently  published,  in  1863 ► a French  prose  translation 
of  the  poem;  but  the  previous  analysis  was,  I believe,  FitzGerald's  only 
help  in  mastering  the  difficulties  of  the  original.  Pie  often  wrote  to  me  in 
India,  describing  the  pleasure  he  found  in  his  new  discovery,  and  he  used  to 
mention  how  the  more  striking  apologues  were  gradually  shaping  themselves  into 
verse,  as  he  thought  them  over  in  his  lonely  walks.  At  last,  in  x86z,  he  sent  me 
the  following  translation,  intending  at  first  to  offer  it  for  publication  in  the 
Journal  of  tht  Bengal  Asiatic  Sodefyf  but  he  soon  felt  that  it  was  too  free  a 
version  for  the  pages  of  a scientific  journal.  He  then  talked  of  publishing  it  by 
itself,  but  the  project  never  assumed  a definite  shape,  though  1 often  urged  him 
to  print  the  ' Bird  Parliament ' as  a sequel  to  the  ' SalamEn.’  " 


Introduction 


xxvii 


which  I had  not  dreamed  of.  I dare  say  these  logical  riddles  are 
not  his  best,  but  they  are  yet  evidences  of  a strength  of  mind 
which  our  Persian  friends  rarely  exhibit,  I think,  I always  said 
about  Cowley,  Donne,  etc.,  whom  Johnson  calls  the  metaphysical 
poets,  that  their  very  quibbles  of  fancy  showed  a power  of  logic 
which  Could  follow  fancy  through  such  remote  analogies.  This  is 
the  case  with  Calderon’s  conceits  also.^  I doubt  I have  given 
, but  a very  one-sided  version  of  Omar;  but  what  I do  only  comes 
up  as  a bubble  to  the  surface  and  breaks;  whereas  you,  with 
exact  scholarship,  might  make  a lasting  impression  of  such  an 
author. 

And  writing  to  Prof.  W.  H.  Thompson,  who  subsequently 
became  Master  of  Trinity,  he  says: 

As  to  my  own  peccadilloes  in  verse,  which  never  pretend  to 
be  original,  this  is  the  story  of  Rubaiyat.  I have  translated  them 
partly  for  Cowell;  young  Parker  asked  me  some  years  ago  for 
something  for  Fraser,  and  I gave  him  the  less  wicked  of  these 
to  use  if  he  chose.  He  kept  them  for  two  years  without  using; 
and  as  I saw  he  didn’t  want  them  I printed  some  copies  with 
Quaritch;  and,  keeping  some  for  myself,  gave  him  the  rest. 
Cowell,  to  whom  I sent  a copy,  was  naturally  alarmed  at  it; 
he  being  a very  religious  man;  nor  have  I given  any  other  copy 
but  to  George  Borrow,  to  whom  I'  had  once  lent  the  Persian, 
and  to  old  Donne  when  he  was  down  here  the  other  day,  to 
whom  I was  showing  a passage  in  another  book  which  brdught 
my  old  Omar  up. 

Omar  drops  out  of  his  correspondence  from  this  point 
until  the  28th  December,  1867,  when  he  writes  to  Cowell: 

I don’t  think  I told  you  about  Garcin  de  Tassy.  He  sent 
me  (as  no  doubt  he  sent  you)  his  annual  Oration.®  I wrote  to 
thank  him ; and  said  I had  been  lately  busy  with  another  country- 
man of  his,  Mons.  Nicolas,  with  his  Omar  Kha3!7am.  On  which 
De  Tassy  writes  back  by  return  of  post  to  ask  ^‘Where  I got 
my  copy  of  Nicolas?  He  had  not  been  able  to  get  one  in  all 
Paris  1 ” So  I wrote  to  Quaritch,  who  told  me  the  book  was  to 
be  had  of  Maisonneuve,  or  any  Oriental  bookseller  in  Paris;  but 

I.  FitzGerald’s  first  translations  from  Calderon  were  published  in  1853, 
under  the  title  " Six  Dramas  from  Calderon.”  They  were  badly  received  by  the 
Press ; the  Athenaum,  in  particular,  attacked  the  work  so  violently  that  he  with- 
drew them  from  circulation,  and  destroyed  the  whole  edition.  They  are  reprinted 
in  exUnso  in  vol.  ii.  of  the  Letters  and  Literary  Remains.” 

z.  As  Professor  of  Oriental  Languages  in  the  Institut  de  France.  There  is 
a Eecueil  Factice  of  these  in  the  British  Museum  containing  his  annual  orations 
from  1853  to  1869. 


xxviii  Introduction 

that  probably  the  shopman  did  not  understand  when  “Les 
Rubaiyat  d’Omar,”  etc.,  were  asked  for,  that  it  meant  *‘Les 
Quatrains,”  etc.  This  (which  I doubt  not  is  the  solution  of  the 
mystery)  I wrote  to  Garcin,  at  the  same  time  offering  one  of  my 
two  copies.  By  return  of  post  comes  a frank  acceptance  of  one 
of  the  copies,  and  his  own  translation  of  Attar’s  Birds  by  way 
of  equivalent.  ...  At  p.  256,  Translation  (v,  4620),  I read, 
“ Lorsque  Nizdm  ul-Mulk  fut  k I’agonie,  il  dit:  ‘O  mon  Dieu!  je 
m’en  vais  entre  les  mains  du  vent.’”  Here  is  our  Omar  in  his 
friend’s  mouth,  is  it  not?^ 

In  September,  1863,  Mr.  Ruskin  addressed  a letter  to 
^‘The  Translator  of  the  Rubaiyat  of  Omar,”  which  he  en- 
trusted to  Mrs.  Burne  Jones,  who,  after  an  interval  of  nearly 
ten  years,  handed  it  to  Charles  Eliot  Norton,  Professor  of 
the  History  of  Fine  Art  in  Harvard  University.^  By  him 
it  was  transmitted  to  Carlyle,  who  sent  it  to  FitzGerald,  with 
the  letter  which  follows,  of  which  the  signature  alone  is  in 
his  own  handwriting ; 

Chelsea,  14^/^  Aprils  1873. 

Dear  FitzGerald, — Mr.  Norton,  the  writer  of  that  note,  is 
a distinguished  American  (co-Editor  for  a long  time  of  the  North 
American  Review) y an  extremely  amiable,  intelligent  and  worthy 
man,  with  whom  I had  some  pleasant  walks,  dialogues  and  other 
communications  of  late  months,  in  the  course  of  which  he  brought 
to  my  knowledge,  for  the  first  time,  your  notable  Omar  Khayyam, 
and  insisted  on  giving  me  a copy  from  the  third  edition,  which  I 
now  possess,  and  duly  prize.  From  him,  too,  by  careful  cross- 
questioning,  I identified  beyond  dispute  the  hidden  “ FitzGerald,” 
the  translator ; and,  indeed,  found  that  his  complete  silence  and 
unique  modesty  in  regard  to  said  meritorious  and  successtul  per- 
formance was  simply  a feature  of  my  own  Edward  F.  1 The 
translation  is  excellent;  the  book  itself  a kind  of  a jewel  in  its  way. 
I do  Norton’s  mission  without  the  least  delay,  as  you  perceive. 
Ruskin’s  message  to  you  passes  through  my  hands  sealed.  I am 
ever  your  affectionate 

T.  Carlyle. 

At  the  same  time  Carlyle  wrote  to  Prof.  Norton : 

5 Cheyne  Row,  Chelsea,  ^ 
iSth  April,  1873. 

Dear  Norton, — It  is  possible  FitzGerald  may  have  written  to 
you;  but  whether  or  not,  I will  send  you  his  letter  to  myself,  as  a 

r.  Vide  note  2 to  Ruba'i  No.  121,  post. 

2.  Vide  the  Bibliography,  No.  71. 


Introduction 


XXIX 


slight  emblem  and  memorial  o£  the  peaceable,  affectionate,  and 
ultra-modest  man,  and  his  innocent  far  nienU  life,  and  the  con- 
nection (were  there  nothing  more)  of  Omar,  the  Mahometan 
Blackguard,  and  Oliver  Cromwell,  the  English  Puritan,  dis- 
charging you  completely,  at  the  same  time,  from  ever  returning 
me  this  letter,  or  taking  any  notice  of  it,  except  a small  silent  one. 

The  following  was  enclosed: 

15^/1  April,  1873. 

My  DEAR  Carlyle, — ^Thank  you  for  enclosing  Mr.  Norton’s 
letter,  and  will  you  thank  him  for  his  enclosure  of  Mr.  Ruskin’s  ? 
It  is  lucky  for  both  R,  and  me  that  you  did  not  read  his  note ; a 
sudden  fit  of  fancy,  I suppose,  which  he  is  subject  to.  But  as  it 
was  kindly  meant  on  his  part,  I have  written  to  thank  him.  Rather 
late  in  the  day,  for  his  letter  (which  Mr.  Norton  thinks  may  have 
lain  a year  or  two  in  his  friend’s  desk)  is  dated  September,  1863,  . . . 

P.S. — Perhaps  I had  belter  write  a word  of  thanks  to 
Mr.  Norton  myself,  which  I will  do,  I suppose  he  may  be 
found  at  the  address  he  gives. 

Accordingly,  he  wrote  to  Prof,  Norton: 

WoODBRiDGE,  lyth  April,  1873. 

Dear  Sir, — ^Two  days  ago  Mr.  Carlyle  sent  me  your  note, 
enclosing  ono  from  Mr.  Ruskin  “to  the  Translator  of  Omar 
Khayyam.’’  You  will  be  a little  surprised  to  hear  that  Mr. 
Ruskin’s  note  is  dated  September,  1863;  all  but  ten  years  ago  I 
I dare  say  he  has  forgotten  all  about  it  long  before  this.  How- 
ever,  I write  him  a note  of  thanks  for  the  good,  too  good,  messages 
he  sent  me;  hotter  late  than  never;  supposing  that  he  will  not  be 
startled,  and  bored  by  my  acknowledgments  of  a forgotten  favour 
rather  than  gratified.  It  is  really  a funny  little  episode  in  the 
ten  years’  dream.  I had  asked  Carlyle  to  thank  you  also  for 
such  trouble  as  yon  have  taken  in  the  matter.  But  as  your 
note  to  him  carries  your  address,  I think  I may  as  well  thank 
yon  for  myself.  I am  very  glad  to  gather  from  your  note  that 
Carlyle  is  well,  and  able  to  walk,  as  well  as  talk,  with  a congenial 
companion.  Indeed,  he  speaks  of  such  agreeable  conversation 
with  you  in  the  message  he  appends  to  your  letter.  For  which, 
thanking  you  once  more,  allow  me  to  write  myself,  yours  sincerely, 

Edward  FitzGerald. 

After  this  we  hear  nothing  further  of  Omar  from  FiteGerald 
until  the  ist  March,  1882,  w'hen  he  writes  to  Mr.  Schiltz 
Wilson'  the  following  letter: 


I.  Vide  the  Bibliography,  No.  75. 


XXX 


Introduction 


ist  Maroh,  1882. 

My  DEAR  Sir, — I must  thank  you  sincerely  for  your  thoughts 
about  Saltoan,  in  which  I recognise  a good  will  towards  the 
Translator  as  well  as  Hking  for  his  work. 

Of  course,  your  praise  could  not  but  help  that  on;  but  I scarce 
think  that  it  is  of  a kind  to  profit  so  far  by  any  review  as  to  make 
it  worth  the  expense  of  time  and  talent  you  might  bestow  upon  it. 
In  Omar’s  case  it  was  different ; he  sang  in  an  acceptable  way,  it 
seems,  of  what  all  men  feel  in  their  hearts,  but  had  not  had 
exprest  in  verse  before.  Jami  tells  of  what  everybody  knows, 
under  cover  of  a not  very  skilful  allegory.  I have  undoubtedly 
improved  the  whole  by  boiling  it  down  to  about  a quarter  of  its 
original  size,  and  there  are  many  pretty  things  in  it,  though  the 
blank  verse  is  too  Miltonic  for  Oriental  style. 

All  this  considered,  why  did  I ever  meddle  with  it  ? Why,  it  was 
the  first  Persian  poem  I read,  with  my  friend  Edward  Cowell,  near 
on  forty  years  ago  ; and  I was  so  well  pleased  with  it  then  (and  now 
think  it  almost  the  best  of  the  Persian  poems  I have  read  or  heard 
about),  that  I published  my  version  of  it  in  1856  (I  think)  with 
Parker,  of  the  Strand.  When  Parker  disappeared,  my  unsold 
copies,  many  more  than  of  the  sold,  were  returned  to  me ; some  ot 
which,ifnDtall,  I gave  to  little  Quaritch,  who,  I believe,  trumpeted 
them  off  to  some  little  profit,  and  I thought  no  more  of  them.^ 

But  some  six  or  seven  years  ago  that  Sheikh  of  mine,  Edward 
Cowell,  who  liked  the  version  better  than  anyone  else,  wished  it 
to  be  reprinted.  So  I took  it  in  hand,  boiled  it  down  to  three- 
fourths  of  what  it  originally  was,  and  (as  you  see)  clapt  it  on  the 
back  of  Omar,  where  I still  believed  it  would  hang  somewhat  of  a 
dead  weight ; but  that  was  Quaritch’s  look  out,  not  mine.  I have 
never  heard  of  any  notice  taken  of  it,  but  just  now  from  you ; and 
I believe  that,  say  what  you  would,  people  would  rather  have  the 
old  sinner  alone.  Therefore  it  is  that  I write  all  this  to  you.  I 
doubt  not  that  any  of  your  editors  would  accept  an  article  from 
you  on  the  subject,  but  I believe  also  they  would  much  prefer  one 
on  many  another  subject;  and  so  probably  with  the  public  whom 
you  write  for. 

Thus  “liberavi  animam  meam”  for  your  behoof,  as  I am 
rightly  bound  to  do  in  return  for  your  goodwill  to  me. 

As  to  the  publication  of  my  name,  I believe  I could  well 
dispense  with  it,  were  it  other  and  better  than  it  is.  But  I have 
some  unpleasant  associations  with  it;  not  the  least  of  them  being 
that  it  was  borne,  Christian  and  surname,  by  a man  who  left 
college  just  when  I went  there.  . . . What  has  become  of  him 
I know  not;  but  he,  among  other  causes,  has  made  me  dislike 
my  name,  and  made  me  sign  myself  (half  in  fun,  of  course)  to 
my  Mends,  as  now  I do  to  you,  sincerely  yours, 

(The  Laird  of)  Littlegrange, 

where  I date  from, 

I.  It  is  strange  that  FitzGerald  makes  no  allusion  here  to  the  reprint  of 
the  first  edition  made  by  Cowell  and  Sons,  of  Ipswich,  in  1871. 


Introduction 


XXXI 


The  FitzGerald  referred  to  in  this  letter  was  Edward 
Marlborough  FitzGerald,  who,  I am  informed,  achieved  some 
notoriety  in  unenviable  directions.  To  this  correspondence 
with  Mr.  Schiitz  Wilson  the  year  before  his  death  he  refers  in 
two  of  his  letters  to  Fanny  Kemble^  in  the  terms  following: 

February,  1882. 

Mr.  Schiitz  Wilson,  a litterateur  en  general,  I believe,  wrote 
up  Omar  Khayyam  some  years  ago,  and  I dare  say  somewhat 
hastened  another  (and  so  far  as  I am  concerned)  final  edition. 

March,  1882. 

Not  content  with  having  formerly  appraised  that  Omar  in 
a way  that,  I dare  say,  advanced  him  to  another  edition,  he 
(S.  W.)  now  writes  me  that  he  feels  moved  to  write  in  favour 
of  another  Persian  who  now  accompanies  Omar  in  his  last 
Avatar.  I have  told  him  plainly  that  he  had  better  not  employ 
time  and  talent  on  what  I do  not  think  he  will  ever  persuade 
the  public  to  care  about,  but  he  thinks  he  will.  He  may  very 
likely  cool  upon  it;  but  in  the  meanwhile  such  are  his  good 
intentions,  not  only  to  the  little  poem,  but,  I believe,  to  myself 
also — ^personally  unknown  as  we  are  to  one  another. 

Such  is  the  history,  as  recorded  by  its  author,  of  the 
Poem  which  of  late  years  has  become  in  a manner  the 
gospel  of  a cult. 


So  many  eminent  scholars,  poets  and  essayists  have  given 
to  the  world  critical  essays  and  appreciations,  having  for  their 
theme  this  poem  of  Edward  FitzGerald’s,  that  were  I to  add 
"a  further  discourse  on  the  subject  I should  be  adding  an  item 
of  little  or  no  value  to  the  mass  of  analytical  criticism.  One 
aspect  of  the  poem  I may,  however,  be  allowed  to  consider, 
on  the  ground  that  I have  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
original  in  general  and  with  FitzGerald’s  sources  of  inspiration 
in  particular ; and  that  is  its  claim  to  consideration  as  a 
translation.®  A translation  pure  and  simple  it  is  not,  but  a 
translation  in  the  most  artistic  sense  of  the  term  it  undoubtedly 
is.  In  considering  this  question  it  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind 

1.  " Letter  of  Edward  FitzGerald  to  Fanny  Kemble,  1871-1883,”  edited  by 
William  Aldis  Wright.  London  (Bentley),  1895. 

2.  My  researches  upon  this  subject  are  embodied  in  the  Terminal  Essay 
to  this  edition,  p.  288. 


XXXll 


Introduction 


the  first  and  the  second  editions  of  the  poem,  for  these  were 
written  under  the  direct  inspiration  of  the  original  Persian,^ 
The  first  edition  was  written  from  the  Bodleian  MS.  and 
the  transcript  of  the  Calcutta  MS.;  the  second— but  it 
will  profit  us  to  read  FitzGerald's  own  words  from  the 
preface  to  the  second  (1868)  edition:  ''While  the  present 
edition  of  Omar  was  preparing,  Mons.  Nicolas,  French 
Consul  at  Rescht,  published  a very  careful  and  a very  good 
edition  of  the  text,  from  a lithograph  copy  at  Teheran, 
comprising  464  ruba’iyat,  with  translation  and  notes  of  his 
own.  Mons*  Nicolas’s  edition  has  reminded  me  of  several 
things,  and  instructed  me  in  others.  . . In  this  second 
edition  FitzGerald  expanded  his  original  seventy-five  quatrains 
to  one  hundred  and  ten,  nine  of  which  were  suppressed  in  the 
third  and  subsequent  editions.  The  method  of  construction 
adopted  by  FitzGerald  must  be  borne  in  mind.  I assumed  at  one 
time  that  he  had  made  a more  or  less  literal  prose  translation  of 
his  originals,  and,  after  steeping  himself  in  these,  wrote  his  poem  ; 
and  I suggested  this  theory  to  Professor  Cowell.  He  writes  me 
under  date  8th  July,  1897 : " I am  quite  sure  that  Mr.  Fitz- 
Gerald did  not  make  a literal  prose  version  first ; he  was  too 
fond  of  getting  the  strong,  vivid  impression  of  the  original  as 
a whole.  He  pondered  this  over  and  over  afterwards,  and 

I.  Dr.  Talcott  Williams,  the  eminent  Arabic  scholar,  writing  to  Mr. 
Nathan  H.  Dole  (vol.  i.  of  N.  H.  Dole's  edition,  p.  123),  observes:  "In 
my  judgment  Omar  owes  more  to  FitzGerald  than  he  does  to  himself,  as  far  as 
English  readers  are  concerned,  I do  not  mean  by  this  that  Omar’s  thought 
differs  with  the  utterances  of  FitzGerald’s  translation,  but  the  utterance  owes  so 
much  in  our  language  to  the  form  in  which  FitzGerald  has  cast  it,  that  I have 
always  felt,  in  the  few  quatrains  which  I have  laboriously  translated,  that  pretty 
much  everything  had  evaporated  when  the  thought  was  tahen  out  of  FitzGerald's 
setting.  The  truth  is,  in  literature,  form  is  everything.  Everybody  has  the 
same  ideas,  I fancy,  and  it  is  only  the  capacity  for  expression  which  mahes 
literature.  ...  I really  cannot  exaggerate  the  difference  between  native  and 
.European  knowledge  of  an  oriental  language.  We  generally  know  their  formal 
'grammar,  history  and  derivatives  of  their  tongues  especially,  a hundredfold 
better  than  they  do ; but  when  it  comes  to  the  meaning  of  a particular  passage, 
we  are  simply  nowhere.  It  is  a simple  and  soul-humbling  truth  that  the  first 
translation  or  two  of  almost  any  Oriental  work  is  full  of  the  wildest  shot.”  The 
student  who  undertakes  the  translation  of  any  Persian  author  speedily  realises 
that  not  to  Sa’adi  alone  might  be  applied  the  well-known  Eastern  saying,  " Each 
word  of  Sa’adi  has  seventy-two  meanings.” 


Introduction 


XXXlll 


altered  it  in  his  lonely  walks,  sometimes  approximating  nearer 
to  the  original,  and  often  diverging  further.  He  was  always 
aiming  at  some  strong  and  worthy  equivalent ; verbal  accuracy 
he  disregarded.”  Professor  Cowell  has  honoured  me  with  a 
good  deal  of  information  on  this  matter  of  FitzGerald’s 
methods,  supplementing  the  information  contained  in  Fitz- 
Gerald’s own  letters  reproduced  above.  I will  quote  some  of 
this  information  at  once: 

zxsi  October,  1896. — In  1856  I found  the  MS.  of  ’Omar 
Khayyam  in  the  Bodleian  and  made  a copy  for  him,  which  I sent 
him  just  before  I went  to  India  in  August  of  that  year.  He  sent  a 
transcript  of  that  copy  to  Garcin  de  Tassy.  ...  I reviewed  Omar 
Khayyam  in  the  Calcutta  Review  in  1858.  ...  I made  a French 
edition  of  one  of  Kha3ryam’s  mathematical  works  my  ‘text.’ 
FitzGerald  alludes  to  my  article  in  his  preface.  ...  He  read  the 
“ Parliament  of  Birds  ” in  a MS.  directly  I left  England,  and  sent  me 
his  account  of  it,  and  subsequently  his  verse  translation.  Garcin 
de  Tassy  published  his  text  and  translation  in  1858  and  ’59,  and 
this  FitzGerald  used  for  his  revised  translation,  published  after 
his  death.i  , . . 

z^rd  October,  1896. — ^The  MS.  in  the  Ouseley  collection  was 
the  only  MS.  I then  (1856)  knew — all  the  MSS.  were  then  un- 
catalogued. My  copy  is  dated  “ May  31st,  1856.  Bodleian 
Library.”  I had  never  seen  a MS.  of  the  quatrains,  so  it  was  a 
real  “find  1”  . . , 

zgth  October,  1896, — I have  the  copy  of  the  Oxford  MS. 
which  I sent  to  E.  F,  G.,  but  it  is  too  sacred  a legacy  to  be  lent  to 
anyone® — it  is  filled  with  his  notes  as  well  as  with  letters  of  mine 
to  him  from  Calcutta.  . . , 

^ist  December,  i8g6. — I got  a copy  made  for  him  from 
the  one  MS.  in  the  Bengal  Asiatic  Society’s  Library  at  Calcutta 
soon  after  I arrived  in  November,  1856,  It  reached  FitzGerald, 
June  14th,  1857,  as  I learn  by  a note  in  his  writing.  Some  time 
after  this  I sent  him  a copy  of  that  rare  Calcutta  printed  edition,® 
which  I got  from  my  Munshi.  I had  just  got  it  when  I wrote  my 
article  in  the  Calcutta  Review,  which  was  mainly  compiled  from 
the  two  texts  of  the  Calcutta  and  Oxford  manuscrij>ts.  . . . You 
will  be  able  to  decide  whether  his  first  translation  was  made  from 
the  Oxford  MS.  only,  by  seeing  whether  that  will  account  for  all 
the  tetrastichs.  He  altered  and  added,  but  he  never,  I fancy, 
invented  an  entire  tetrastich  of  his  own.  ...  I feel  persuaded 

1.  Vide  note  i,  p.  xxvi. 

2.  1 had  asked  Professor  Cowell  to  lend  me  this. 

3.  The  Calcutta  lithograph  of  1836. 


XXXIV 


Introduction 


that  his  first  translation  was  compiled  from  the  Oxford  and 
Calcutta  MSS.  combined.  You  will  find  tetrastichs  from  the 
latter  represented  in  his  translation  which  have  no  parallel  in  the 
brief  Oxford  MS.  ...  I have  no  MS.  copy  of  his  translation. 
That  was  all  done  after  I had  left  England.  He  used  to  send  me 
questions  by  letter.  . . . 

I desire  to  record  in  this  place  my  profound  gratitude  to 
Professor  Cowell  for  all  this  most  interesting  information, 
which  he  alone  is  competent  to  give  ex  cathedra-  To  return, 
in  the  light  of  these  extracts,  to  the  question  of  how  far 
Edward  FitzGerald  may  be  called  the  translator  of  the  Quatrains 
of  Omar  Khayyam,  Professor  Charles  Eliot  Norton,  in  the 
North  American  Review  (October,  1869),  says:  “He  is  to  be 
called  ^ translator  ’ only  in  default  of  a better  word,  one  which 
should  express  the  poetic  transfusion  of  a poetic  spirit  from 
one  language  to  another,  and  the  re-representation  of  the 
ideas  and  images  of  the  original  in  a form  not  altogether 
diverse  from  their  own,  but  perfectly  adapted  to  the  new 
conditions  of  time,  place,  custom,  and  habit  of  mind  in  which 
they  reappear.  It  has  all  the  merit  of  a remarkable  original 
production,  and  its  excellence  is  the  highest  testimony  that 
could  be  given  to  the  essential  impressiveness  and  worth  of 
, the  Persian  poet.  It  is  the  work  of  a poet  inspired  by  the 
work  of  a poet ; not  a copy,  but  a reproduction ; not  a trans- 
lation, but  the  re-delivery  of  a poetic  inspiration  ...  in  its 
English  dress  it  reads  like  the  latest  and  freshest  expression 
of  the  perplexity  and  of  the  doubt  of  the  generation  to  which 
we  ourselves  belong.” 

The  opposition  in  the  debate,  if  I may  so  call  it,  is  sup- 
ported by  Mr.  H.  G.  Keene  in  an  article  written  for  Macmillan^s 
Magazine  (N ovember,  1887).  Reviewing  FitzGerald’s  paraphrase, 
'he  says:  “This  unique  and  beautiful  poem  does  not  in  truth 
;'show  the  real  Khayyam.  Unquestionably  among  the  fine 
things  in  modern  English  verse,  these  quatrains  give  no 
accurate  representation  of  the  original  in  any  of  their  versions ; 
as  indeed  the  variations  of  successive  editions  do  themselves 


Introduction 


XXXV 


tend  to  show.  ...  In  FitzGerald  ...  of  the  flighty  Persian 
freethinker,  eclectic  and  unsystematic,  we  see  little  or 
nothing.”  The  want  of  system  here  described  as  lacking 
in  FitzGerald's  poem  is  explained  for  the  orientalist  by  the 
exigencies  of  the  dTwan  form  in  which  Omar’s  quatrains  have 
for  the  most  part  been  preserved  and  published.  It  is  beyond  the 
function  of  criticism  from  the  standpoint  of  accurate  rendering  to 
brand  FitzGerald’s  compulsory  marshalling  and  re-organisation 
of  his  material  with  the  stigma  of  inaccuracy.  After  presenting 
us  with  some  renderings  of  the  original  into  English  verse — 
renderings,  by-the-way,  far  above  the  average  of  such  achieve- 
ments, both  as  to  manner  and  translation — Mr.  Keene  says: 

It  is  difficult  to  explain  by  isolated  specimens  FitzGerald’s 
deviations  from  his  original,  because  his  variation  is  general 
and  total.  The  difference  between  him  and  Khayyam  is  the 
same  as  that  between  a group  ot  epigrams  and  a long  satire*” 
The  essayist  then  illustrates  by  quoting  two  out  of  the  four 
quatrains  (F.  v.  78-81),  in  which  FitzGerald  has  summed  up 
the  philosophy  of  the  whole  poem,  and  appends  a literal  prose 
translation  of  two  out  of  the  twenty  or  thirty  quatrains  of 
the  original  that  contain  the  inspiration  of  those  four 
verses.  It  is  unfair  to  make  this  juxtaposition  and  to  imply 
that  FitzGerald  intended  his  two  verses  as  translations  of  the 
two  originals  given.  During  the  twelve  years  that  I have 
been  working  at  the  subject,  it  has  interested  me  to  note 
wherever  I found  a line  in  the  Bodleian  or  in  the  Calcutta  MSS. 
that  could  be  distinctly  pointed  out  as  “the  original”  of  a 
line  of  FitzGerald.  A very  few  emendations  were  taken  by  him, 
as  he  himself  says,  for  his  second  and  subsequent  editions, 
from  the  text  of  Nicolas,  and  at  some  future  time  I propose 
to  print  an  edition  of  FitzGerald’s  quatrains,  giving  the 
original,  or  inspiration,  of  every  quatrain,  if  not  01  every 
individual  line.  The  reader  of  the  following  pages  will  be 
able  to  judge  for  himself  how  close  to  the  originals  whole 
quatrains  of  FitzGerald’s  poem  really  are. 


XXXVl 


Introduction 


Whilst  these  pages  have  been  passing  through  the  press  I 
have  been  following  up  the  clue  afforded  by  Professor  Cowell’s 
observations  [vide  p.  xviii.  and  xix.)  as  to  the  origin  of  the 
distich  beginning  Earth  could  not  answer,  nor  the  seas  that 
mourn,”  and  FitzGerald’s  own  quotation  of  the  dying  utter- 
ances of  Nizam  ul  Mulk  from  the  Mantik  ut  tair  of  Ferld 
ud  din  Attar,  and  I have  made  the  discovery  that  most,  if  not 
all  of  FitzGerald’s  lines  which  have  baffled  students  of  the 
ruba’iyat  of  Omar  Khayyam,  are  taken  from  that  poem,  which 
FitzGerald  had  deeply  studied  immediately  before  he  addressed 
himself  to  his  Omar,  (Vide  note  i,  p.  xxvi.)  These  parallels 
I propose  to  set  forth  in  another  place  for  the  present, 
suffice  it  to  say  that  I have  found  in  the  Mantik  ut  tair 
the  originals  of  the  quatrain  beginning  Oh  Thou  1 who  man 
of  baser  earth  didst  make,”  and  that  beginning,  Heaven  but 
the  Vision  of  fulfilled  desire,”  and  many  other  quatrains  and 
isolated  lines.  A number  of  these  parallels  are  indicated  in 
the  notes  accompanying  the  text  {vide  post). 

The  faults,  if  faults  they  be,  which  Mr.  Keene  attributes 
to  FitzGerald,  are  necessarily  inseparable  from  any  verse  trans- 
lation, the  exigencies  of  rhyme  and  metre  compelling  a distor- 
tion of  the  translated  lines.  These  faults  are  abundantly 
manifest  in  the  verse  translations  of  Mr.  Keene  himself.  Mr, 
Whinfield  has  observed  : Omar  is  a poet  who  can  hardly  be 
translated  satisfactorily  otherwise  than  in  verse.  , . , The 
successor  of  a translator  like  Mr.  FitzGerald,  who  ventures  to 
write  verse,  and  especially  verse  of  the  metre  which  he  has 
handled  with  such  success,  cannot  help  feeling  at  almost  every 
step  that  he  is  provoking  comparisons  very  much  to  his  own 
disadvantage.  But  I do  not  think  this  consideration  ought  to 
deter  him  from  using  the  vehicle  which  everything  else  indi- 
cates as  the  proper  one.”  Even  admitting  this  contention, 
one  cannot  help  regretting  that  Mr.  Whinfield  did  not  also 
give  us  the  literal  prose  translation  he  may  be  assumed  to 
have  made  in  the  first  instance;  a comparison  of  the  literal 

I.  Vid&  the  Terminal  Essay  to  this  edition,  p.  2SS. 


Introduction 


xxxvii 


translations  comprised  in  the  present  volume  with  his  verse 
renderings  of  the  same  quatrains,  will,  I think,  abundantly 
justify  this  regret,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  mere  student. 
It  is  next  door  to  impossible  to  imitate  in  English  the  prevail- 
ing metre  of  the  ruba’iyat:  Mr.  Michael  Kerney,  the  anon3nnous 
editor  of  the  American  reprint  of  FitzGerald’s  collected  works 
(Boston,  1887),  has  attempted  it  in  his  notes  to  the  quatrains, 
with  a result  which  must  be  seen  to  be  believed.  One 
enthusiastic  student  of  the  ruba’iyat,  however,  has  handled 
the  metre  of  the  original  with  grace  and  felicity,  and  that  is 
Mr.  Nathan  H.  Dole,  editor  of  the  Boston  Variorum  Edition 
of  1896,  in  his  own  introductory  “ruba’iyat”;  these  contain 
the  true  lilt  of  the  original  without  resorting  to  verbal  quirks 
that  jar  upon  the  occidental  ear.  Of  verse  translations,  the  best 
I have  seen  are  those  of  Professor  C.  J.  Pickering,  in  the 
National  Review  for  December,  1890.^ 

A few  words  in  conclusion,  by  way  of  apology  for  my 
own  work.  It  does  not  aim  at  being  an  edition  of  the 
Ruba’iyat  of  Omar  Kha}ryam  in  general,  but  it  is  an  attempt 
to  place  before  English  readers  a literal  translation  of  the  oldest 
known  MS.  of  the  quatrains,  and  an  exposition  of  the  most 
important  section  of  the  material  used  by  FitzGerald  in  the 
construction  of  his  poem.  In  the  case  of  the  majority  of 
the  quatrains  the  task  is  not  an  especially  difficult  one,  but 
in  the  case  of  the  residual  minority,  the  obscurity  of  the 
original  has  made  the  work  one  of  the  greatest  doubt  and 
anxiety.  Such,  for  instance,  are  qq.  14,  19,  30,  50,  57, 
98, 104, 106, 113, 142 — quatrains  in  which  the  correct  rendering 
of  almost  every  individual  line  is  highly  debateable.® 

Later  scribes  and  editors  have  made  bold  emendations, 
and  these  I have  diligently  marshalled,  with  the  result  that  I 
have,  decided  to  supplement  and,  where  possible,  elucidate  the 
readings  of  the  Bodleian  MS.  by  reference  to  the  following  texts : 

1.  The  reader  or  critic  who  feels  curious  to  know  to  what  extent  a trans- 
lation can  be  abused  is  referred  to  the  Spectator,  vol.  Ixiii.,  p.  215  (Aug.  17,  1889). 

2.  Viilc  note  i,  p,  xxxii. 


XXXVlll 


lntrodtcctio7i 


1.  The  MS.  No.  1458  in  the  Bengal  Asiatic  Society’s 
Library  at  Calcutta.  It  is  a i2mo  containing  49  leaves.  It 
has  9 ruba’iyat  on  each  leaf,  and  87  further  ruba’iyat  are 
written  upon  the  margins.  Page  b of  leaf  i contains  a prose 
preface  ending  with  the  anecdote  of  Omar’s  apparition  to  his 
mother,  which  leads  to  the  opening  ruba’i  of  the  MS.  quoted  in 
the  note  to  q.  impost. 

la.  The  Bankipur  MS.  described  at  p.  xi. 

2.  The  Lucknow  lithographed  edition.  My  copy,  referred 
to  as  L.  in  the  notes  to  this  text,  is  one  of  the  edition  of  a.h. 
1312  (a.d.  1894),  containing  770  quatrains. 

3.  The  text  printed  opposite  to  his  prose  translation  by 
Mons.  Nicolas.  Taken  from  the  edition  lithographed  in 
Teheran  in  a.h.  1278  (a.d.  1861).^ 

4.  The  text  lithographed  in  St.  Petersburg  in  1888,  taken 
from  the  Tabriz  edition  of  a.h.  1285  (a.d.  1868).  It  is  identical 
with  the  text  of  Mons.  Nicolas,  excepting  that  it  contains  one 
ruba’i  (No.  48)  not  in  Nicolas,  and  does  not  contain  the  Nos.  35, 
190,  316,  317,  363,  390,  439,  and  the  concluding  five  ruba’iyat, 
which  are  out  of  their  dlwan  order  at  the  end  of  that  text. 

' 5.  The  Paris  MS.  before  referred  to,  containing  346 
ruba’iyat,  and  dated  a.h.  934  (a.d.  1538).^ 

6,  The  Bombay  lithographed  edition  of  a.h.  1297  (a.d. 
1880),  containing  756  ruba’iyat. 

7.  The  text  printed  by  Mr.  Whinfield,  described  elsewhere. 

1.  Dr.  Hieu,  in  his  Catalogue  of  the  Persian  MSS.  in  the  British  Museumi 
states  that  Nicolas’s  text  is  that  of  Sanjar  Mirza,  lithographed  at  Teheran  in 
A.H.  1278,  with  a few  additional  ruba’iyat  from  other  sources. 

2.  The  copy  of  the  Paris  MS.  of  a.h.  934  which  I have  had  made 
for  me  only  reached  me  when  these  sheets  were  almost  ready  for  the  printer. 
The  first  edition  was.  in  fact,  kept  back  in  order  that  the  information  to  be  found 
in  so  important  a MS.  might  be  included.  My  copy  was  unfortunately  made  by 
hand  instead  of  by  photography,  and  contains  clerical  errors ; still,  it  is  clear 
that  nearly  all  the  Bodleian  ruba'iyat  are  to  be  found  in  it,  and  that  where  this  is 
the  case  the  readings  are  in  the  majority  of  cases  identical.  The  haste  in  which 
I compared  this  Paris  MS.  with  this  and  the  other  texts  may  have  caused  me  to 
overlook  some  few  references  that  might  have  been  added,  had  it  been  in  my 
hands  during  the  years  that  these  notes  have  been  in  course  of  preparation. 


Introduction 


xxxix 


I have  also  consulted,  for  the  elucidation  of  obscure 
readings,  but  have  not  collated  all  through,  or  given  cross- 
references  to,  the  following : 

8.  The  MS.  in  the  British  Museum,  Or.  330. 

g.  The  MS.  in  the  British  Museum,  Add.  27,318. 

10.  The  Calcutta  lithographed  edition  of  1836. 

11.  A collection  of  ruba’iyat  by  Omar  Khayyam,  Baba 
Tahir,  and  Attar,  lithographed  at  Teheran- in  1857. 

12.  The  41  quatrains  contained  in  the  Atash  Kadah  of 
Azr,  described  elsewhere  (p.  xiii.  and  note  2). 

13.  The  Paris  MS.  of  a.h.  920  (a.d.  1514). 

14.  The  Paris  MS.  of  a.h.  937  (a.d.  1530). 

I have  also  noted,  where  necessary,  the  translations  of 
Nicolas,  Whinfield,  Cowell,  and  Garcin  de  Tassy. 

It  will  therefore  be  observed  that  when  it  would  appear 
from  the  notes  to  my  text  that  a ruba’i  is  " only  to  be  found  in  the 
Bodleian  MS.,”  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  I have  actually 
searched  for  it  only  among  the  4,415  ruba’iyat  comprised  in  the 
first  eight  of  the  texts  above  referred  to. 

The  exigences  of  time,  space,  my  reader’s  patience,  and 
my  publisher’s  pocket  have  made  me,  with  some  regret  I own, 
but,  I think,  with  advantage  to  my  book,  omit  a vast  mass 
of  references  to  other  ruba’iyat,  not  identical  with,  but  more 
or  less  closely  corresponding  to,  ruba’iyat  that  are  contained 
in  this  MS.  The  inclusion  of  these  would  have  swelled  my 
notes  far  beyond  the  dimensions  of  the  whole  work  as  it  stands. 
The  curious  who  care  to  see  what  they  have  been  spared 
may  make  the  following  comparisons  between  this  text  and 
that  of  Mons.  Nicolas  alone.  They  are  picked  at  random 
from  several  hundred  reference^: 

Compare  Bodleian  MS.  q.  2rx\vith  Nicolas’s  text,  q.  117 

zg  „ » 177 

34  » »»  168-9 


xl 


Introduction 


Compare  Bodleian  MS.  q.  85  with  Nicolas’s  text,  q.  191 
,,  a ,,  ,,  II5 

i)  n ^27  >> 

„ „ 129  „ „ 72 

>)  39  139  f* 

In  like  manner,  when  referring  to  parallel  passages  from 
other  authors,  I have  only  given  the  originals  (in  the  Persian 
notes)  in  the  cases  where  there  exist  printed  or  lithographed 
texts  available  for  reference  and  easily  obtainable.  It  seems 
a grievous  thing  to  refer  the  student  to  an  isolated  MS.  in 
the  British  Museum  or  elsewhere,  and  I have  avoided  doing 
so,  but  it  naay  be  observed  that  my  quotations  from  the 
Beharistan  are  taken  from  the  British  Museum  MSS.,  Add. 
18,579  and  7,775.  I do  not  think  that  the  most  exacting 
critic  will  blame  me  for  transposing  the  order  of  the  pages 
of  the  original  MS. ; to  have  arranged  them  to  read  backwards, 
according  to  oriental  custom,  would  have  savoured  of  pedantry. 

Most  translators  of  oriental  works  have  given  elaborate 
explanations  of  the  system  they  have  adopted  in  transliterating 
Persian  words.  It  is  pitiable  that  no  universal  system  has 
been  established,  for  the  diversities  to  be  found  in  all  trans- 
literations are  confusing  in  the  extreme.  One  finds  this  even 
in  the  name  Khayyam,  which  will  be  found  transliterated  in 
the  Bibliography  (p.  281)  Khaiam,  Khaiyam,  Chiam,  Chajjam, 
etc.,  etc.  I have  adopted  the  expedient  of  noting  only  strong 
vowel  sounds  represented  in  the  original  by  Alif,  Waw,  and 
Ye,  giving  always  a supplementary  note  of  the  actual  Persian 
where  I have  been  compelled  to  transliterate.  Edward 
FitzGerald  crystallized  (so  to  speak)  for  all  time  the  trans- 
literation ruba’iyat,”  a transliteration  which  I would  fain 
see  fall  into  disuse  and  thence  into  oblivion.  The  word 
ruba’i  is  common  to  more  than  one  oriental  language,  and 
is  correctly  translated  “ quatrain.”  Between  the  letters  of 
the  first  part  of  the  word  “ruba”  and  the  terminal  4,  or  -y, 
occurs  the  purely  oriental  letter  ^ = soft  gh,  as  in  our  word 


Introdticiion 


xli 


high,”  as  opposed  to  the  ^ = hard  gA,  as  in  our  word 
ghost,”  the  terminal  -at  being  an  artificial  form  of  Persian 
plural  borrowed  from  the  Arabic,  in  which  language  it  is 
the  regular  plural  termination  of  feminine  nouns.  If,  there- 
fore, it  be  desired  to  retain  this  Persian  word  in  the  title 
of  an  English  translation  (a  pedantry  which  would  be  deemed 
inexcusable  were  it  to  occur  in  such  a title  as,  for  instance, 
'‘The  Gedichte  of  Henry  Heine”),  it  seems  a pity  that  the 
transliteration  ‘‘rubagAyat,”  which  conveys  an  idea  of  the 
rich  sonority  of  the  original,  should  not  be  adopted 

in  place  of  the  spiritless  and  thin  rendering  “ ruba’iyat,”  even 
with  the  gh  indicated  as  is  usual  by  an  inverted  comma.  I 
have,  however,  taken  counsel  with  Professor  Cowell,  Mr.  Whin- 
field  and  Dr.  Ross,  and  they  warn  me  earnestly  against  dis- 
turbing an  accepted  rendering,  and  point  out  that  my  suggestion 
would  involve  similarly  transliterating  the  which  commences 
the  name  ‘‘Omar”  (or,  as  some  purists  have  it,  ^Umar),  and 
reading  it  “ GAomar,”  which  would  offend  widely  spread 
susceptibilities.  It  is  also  difficult  to  pronounce  this  gh  with- 
out giving  it  the  value  of  the  thick  {grassiye)  continental  r. 
I have,  therefore,  avoided  attempting  this  innovation. 

Finally,  let  me  acknowledge  the  sympathetic  assistance 
that  I have  received  in  preparing  these  sheets  for  the  press 
from  Professor  Cowell,  who  placed  his  MSS.  at  my  disposal, 
and  thereby  greatly  lightened  my  labours ; from  Mr.  Whinfield, 
who  has  favoured  me  with  his  valuable  opinion  upon  some 
of  the  most  obscurely-worded  quatrains;  and  from  Professor 
E.  Denison  Ross,  who  has  taken  a keen  interest  in  my  work, 
even  to  the  point  of  going  through  the  whole  with  me  line  by 
line  and  note  by  note,  and  without  whose  help  I should  even 
now  have  hesitated  to  give  the  result  of  my  labours  to  the  world. 

As  regards  the  actual  translation  of  the  quatrains,  it  has 
been  my  endeavour  to  give  a literal  rendering  of  the  original 
line  for  line,  either  in  the  translation  proper  or  in  the  accom- 
panying notes,  and  in  this  I have  been  very  greatly  assisted  by 


xlii 


Iniroduction 


Mr.  Barry  Pain,  who  has  gone  through  it  with  me  and  helped 
me  to  turn  the  intricate  Persian  construction  of  the  lines  into 
English,  a task  for  which  one  is  entirely  unfitted  after  being 
steeped,  as  I had  been  during  the  preparation  of  this  volume 
for  the  press,  in  the  involved  phrasing  of  the  original.  The 
arrangement  of  the  quatrains  upon  the  pages  of  the  MS., 
a bait,  a ruba’i,  and  another  bait  on  each,  being  very  awk- 
ward for  the  English  reader,  and  the  translation  being  much 
confused  by  note-references,  I have  inserted  between  this  In- 
troduction and  the  text  accompanied  by  the  translation  and 
the  facsimiles,  etc.,  a clean  copy  of  the  English  only,  for  the 
convenience  of  readers  who  wish  to  gather  a general  impres- 
sion of  the  whole  poem,  without  going  into  the  minutiae  dealt 
with  in  the  notes.  It  must,  however,  be  borne  in  mind  by 
those  who  read  this  English  translation,  that  the  nature  of 
the  original  is  such  that  in  many  places  it  is  quite  incompre-* 
hensible  witljout  reference  to  the  notes  which  accompany 
the  text,  conclusion,  I cannot  do  better  than  quote  the 
concluding  distich  of  the  edition  from  which  the  Kama  Shastra 
Society’s  translation  of  the  Gulistan  was  made : 

Gratitude  is  due  that  this  book  is  ended 

Before  my  life  has  reached  its  termination.^ 

London,  April,  1898. 

I.  The  originals  of  these  lines  will  be  found  on  p.  287.  They  are  taken 
from  a text  of  the  Gulistan  lithographed  in  Bombay  in  1875,  The  Editor  remarks, 
in  a marginal  note,  that  he  has  never  seen  them  in  any  MS.  other  than  that  from 
which  his  text  was  taken,  and  Mr.  Ellis  consulted  a quantity  of  MSS.  and  texts 
of  the  Gulistan  at  the  British  Museum  before  he  found  them  for  me  in  the  1875 
lithograph. 


ENGLISH  TRANSLATION 


QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

(OusELY  MS.,  140,  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford) 


Note. — Words  printed  in  italics  are  not,  properly  speaking,  repre- 
sented  in  the  Persian  text,  hut  are  inserted  for  the  purpose  of 
converting  Oriental  into  Occidental  forms  of  phraseology. 


1. 

If  I have  never  threaded  the  pearl  of  Thy  service, 

and  if  I have  never  wiped  the  dust  of  sin  from  my  face; 

nevertheless,  I am  not  hopeless  of  Thy  mercy, 

for  the  reason  that  I have  never  said  that  One  was  Two. 

2. 

If  I talk  of  the  mystery  with  Thee  in  a tavern, 
it  is  better  than  if  I make  my  devotions  before  the  Mihrab 
without  Thee. 

O Thou,  the  first  and  last  of  all  created  beings ! 
burn  me  an  Thou  wilt,  or  cherish  me  an  Thou  wilt. 


3* 

So  far  as  in  thee  lies,  reproach  not  drunkards, 

lay  thou  aside  pretence  and  imposture; 

if,  henceforth,  thou  desirest  rest  from  this  life  of  thine, 

do  not  for  a moment  shun  humble  folk. 

4- 

So  far  as  in  thee  lies,  cause  no  pain  to  anyone, 
nor  cause  anyone  to  suffer  from  thy  wrath; 
if  thou  hast  a desire  for  eternal  peace, 
fret  thyself  always  and  harass  no  one. 


I 


2 


Ruba'iyat  of  Omar  Khayyam 


5- 

Since  no  one  will  guarantee  thee  a to-morrow, 
make  thou  happy  now  this  love-sick  heart; 
drink  wine  in  the  moonlight,  O Moon,  for  the  moon 
shall  seek  us  long  and  shall  not  find  us. 

6. 

The  Qur’an,  which  men  call  the  Supreme  Word, 
they  read  at  intervals  but  not  continually, 
hut  on  the  lines  upon  the  goblet  a text  is  engraved 
which  they  read  at  all  times  and  in  all  places. 


7- 

Here  are  we ; and  so  is  the  wine,  and  the  drinking  bench ; 
and  the  ruined  furnace ; 

careless  of  hopes  of  mercy,  and  of  fears  of  punishment ; 
our  souls,  and  our  hearts,  and  our  goblets,  and  our  garments 
full  of  the  lees  of  wine, 

independent  of  earth  and  air,  and  fire  and  water. 


8. 

In  this  life  it  is  best  that  thou  shouldst  make  but  few  friends ; 
distant  intercourse  with  one’s  fellow  men  is  good; 
that  person  upon  whom  thou  leanest  entirely, 
when  thou  examinest  him  closely,  he  is  thine  enemy. 

9- 

This  jug  was  once  a plaintive  lover  as  I am, 

and  was  in  pursuit  of  one  of  comely  face ; 

this  handle  that  thou  seest  upon  its  neck 

is  an  arm  that  once  lay  around  the  neck  of  a friend. 


10. 

Ah,  woe  to  that  heart  in  which  there  is  no  passion, 
which  is  not  spell-bound  by  the  love  of  a heart-cheerer ! 
the  day  that  thou  spendest  without  love, 
there  is  no  day  more  useless  to  thee  than  that  day. 


English  Translation 


3 


II. 

To-day  being  the  season  of  my  youth, 

I desire  wine,  for  thence  comes  my  happiness; 
reproach  me  not,  even  though  acrid  it  is  pleasant; 
it  is  acrid  in  that  it  represents  my  life. 


12. 

Thou  hast  no  power  to-day  over  the  morrow, 
and  anxiety  about  the  morrow  ht:^gs  ihe^  only  melancholy ; 
waste  not  thou  this  moment  if  thy  heart  be  not  mad, 
for  the  value  of  the  remainder  of  this  life  is  not  manifest. 


13- 

Now  that  there  is  a possibility  of  happiness  for  the  world, 
every  living  heart  has  yearnings  towards  the  desert, 
upon  every  bough  is  the  appearance  of  Moses’  hand, 
in  every  breeze  is  the  exhalation  of  Jesus’  breath. 

14- 

For  him  for  whom  the  fruit  ot  the  branch  of  truth  has  not  grown, 
the  reason  is  that  he  is  not  firm  in  the  Road. 

Every  one  has  feebly  shaken  with  his  hand  the  bough  oj 
truth. 

Know  that  to-day  is  like  yesterday,  and  that  to-morrow  is  like 
the  First  Day  of  Creation* 

15- 

Already  on  the  Day  of  Creation  beyond  the  heavens  my  soul 
searched  for  the  Tablet  and  Pen  and  for  heaven  and  hell; 
at  last  the  Teacher  said  to  me  with  His  enlightened  judgment, 
‘‘Tablet  and  Pen,  and  heaven  and  hell,  are  within  thyself,” 


16. 

Arise  and  give  me  wine — ^what  time  is  this  for  words? 

for  to-night  thy  little  mouth  fills  all  my  needs ; 

give  me  wine,  rose-coloured  as  thy  cheeks, 

for  this  penitence  of  mine  is  as  full  of  tangles  as  thy  curls, 

I — 2 


4 


Ruba’iyat  of  Omar  Khayyam 


17- 

The  spring  breeze  blows  sweetly  upon  the  face  of  the  rose, 
in  the  shade  of  the  garden  plot  a darling’s  face  is  sweet ; 
nothing  thou  canst  say  of  yesterday  that  is  past,  is  sweet, 
be  happy  and  do  not  speak  of  yesterday,  for  to-day  is  sweet. 

i8. 

How  long  shall  I throw  bricks  upon  the  surface  of  the  sea  ? 

I am  disgusted  with  the  idol-worshippers  of  the  pagoda. 
Kha3^am ! who  can  say  that  he  will  be  a denizen  of  hell, 
who  ever  went  to  hell,  and  who  ever  came  from  heaven  ? 


19. 

The  elements  of  a cup  which  he  has  put  together, 
their  breaking  up  a drinker  cannot  approve, 
all  these  heads  and  delicate  feet — ^with  his  finger-tips, 
for  love  of  whom  did  he  make  them  ? — for  hate  of  whom  did 
he  break  them  ? 


20. 

Like  water  in  a great  river  and  like  wind  m the  desert, 
another  day  passes  out  of  the  period  of  my  existence; 
grief  has  never  lingered  in  my  mind — concerning  two  days, 
the  day  that  has  not  yet  come  and  the  day  that  is  past. 


21. 

Seeing  that  my  coming  was  not  tor  me  the  Day  of  Creation, 
and  that  my  undesired  departure  hmce  is  a purpose  fixed  for  me, 
get  up  and  gird  well  thy  loins,  0 nimble  Cup-bearer, 
for  I will  wash  down  the  misery  of  the  world  in  wine. 


22. 

Kha3y^am,  who  stitched  at  the  tents  of  wisdom, 
fell  into  the  furnace  of  sorrow  and  was  suddenly  burnt ; 
the  shears  of  doom  cut  the  tent-rope  of  his  existence, 
and  the  broker  of  hope  sold  him  for  a mere  song. 


English  Translation 


5 


23- 

Khayyam,  why  mourn  thus  for  thy  sins? 

from  grieving  thus  what  advantage,  more  or  less,  dost  thou  gain? 
Mercy  was  never  for  him  who  sins  not, 
mercy  is  granted  for  sins — ^why  then  grieve? 


24. 

In  cell,  and  college,  and  monastery,  and  synagogue 
are  those  who  fear  hell  and  those  who  seek  after  heaven ; 
he  who  has  knowledge  of  the  secrets  of  God 
sows  none  of  such  seed  in  his  heart  of  hearts. 


25* 

If  in  the  season  of  spring  a being,  houri-shaped, 
gives  me  on  the  green  bank  of  a field  a goblet  full  of  wine, 
(though  to  everyone  this  saying  may  seem  uncouth) 
a dog  is  better  than  I am  if  thenceforth  I pronounce  the  name 
of  heaven. 


26. 

Know  this — ^that  from  thy  soul  thou  shalt  be  separated, 
thou  shalt  pass  behind  the  curtain  of  the  secrets  of  God. 

Be  happy — thou  knowest  not  whence  thou  hast  come  : 
drink  wine — thou  knowest  not  whither  thou  shalt  go. 

27. 

I fell  asleep,  and  wisdom  said  to  me; — 

‘‘Never  from  sleep  has  the  rose  of  happiness  blossomed  for 
anyone ; 

why  do  a thing  that  is  the  mate  of  death? 

Drink  wine,  for  thou  must  sleep  for  ages.’* 


28. 

My  heart  said  to  me: — “I  have  a longing  for  inspired  knowledge; 
teach  me  if  thou  art  able.” 

I said  the  Alif.  My  heart  said ; — “ Say  no  more. 

If  One  is  in  the  house,  one  letter  is  enough.” 


6 


RuhaHyat  of  Omar  Khayyam 


29. 

No  one  can  pass  behind  the  curtain  that  veils  the  secret, 
the  mind  of  no  one  is  cognizant  of  what  is  there ; 
save  in  the  heart  of  earth  we  have  no  haven. 

Drink  wine,  for  to  such  talk  there  is  no  end. 

30. 

The  mystery  must  be  kept  hidden  from  all  the  ignoble, 
and  the  secrets  must  be  withheld  from  fools. 

Consider  thine  actions  towards  thy  fellow  men  : 
our  hopes  must  be  concealed  from  all  mankind. 


31- 

From  the  beginning  was  written  what  shall  be; 
unhaJtingly  the  Pen  writes^  and  is  heedless  of  good  and  bad; 
on  the  First  Day  He  appointed  everything  that  must  be — 
our  grief  and  our  efforts  are  vain. 


32. 

In  the  spring,  on  the  bank  of  the  river  and  on  the  edge 
of  the  field, 

with  a few  companions  and  a playmate  houri-shaped, 
bring  forth  the  cup,  for  those  that  drink  the  morning  draught 
are  independent  of  the  mosque  and  free  from  the  synagogue 


33- 

The  heavenly  vault  is  the  girdle  of  my  weary  body, 
Jihun  is  a water-course  worn  by  my  filtered  tears, 
hell  is  a spark  from  my  useless  worries, 

Paradise  is  a moment  of  time  when  I am  tranquil. 


34- 

They  say  that  the  garden  of  Eden  is  pleasant  with  houris  : 
I say  that  the  juice  of  the  grape  is  pleasant. 

Hold  fast  this  cash  and  let  that  credit  go, 

for  the  noise  of  drums,  brother,  is  pleasant  from  afar. 


English  Translation 


7 


35- 

Drink  wine,  for  thou  wilt  sleep  long  beneath  the  clay 
without  an  intimate,  a friend,  a comrade,  or  wife ; 
take  care  that  thou  telPst  not  this  hidden  secret  to  anyone : — 
The  tulips  that  are  withered  will  never  bloom  again. 

36. 

Drink  wine,  for  this  is  life  eternal, 

this  is  thy  gain  from  the  days  of  thy  youth ; 

a season  of  roses,  and  wine,  and  drunken  companions — 

be  happy  for  a moment  for  this  is  life! 


37- 

Give  me  wine  which  is  a salve  for  my  wounded  heart, 
it  is  the  boon  companion  of  those  who  have  trafficked  in  love ; 
to  my  mind  the  dregs  of  a single  draught  are  better 
than  the  vault  of  heaven  which  is  the  hollow  of  the  world's 
skull. 

38. 

I drink  wine,  and  my  enemies  from  left  and  right 
say: — ^'Do  not  drink  wine,  for  it  is  the  foe  of  religion.’^ 

When  I knew  that  wine  was  the  foe  of  religion, 

I said : — By  Allah  I let  me  drink  the  foe’s  blood,  for  that  is 
lawful.” 


39- 

Wine  is  a melted  ruby  and  the  cup  is  the  mine  thereof ; 
the  cup  is  a body  and  its  wine  is  the  soul  thereof; 
that  crystal  cup  that  is  bubbling  over  with  wine 
is  a tear  in  which  the  heart’s  blood  is  hidden. 


40. 

I know  not  whether  he  who  fashioned  me 
appointed  me  to  dwell  in  heaven  or  in  dreadful  hell, 
hut  some  food,  and  an  adored  one,  and  wine,  upon  the  green 
bank  of  a field — 

all  these  three  are  cash  to  me:  thine  be  the  credit-heaven! 


8 


Ruba'iyat  of  Omar  Khayyam 


41. 

The  good  and  the  bad  that  are  in  man’s  nature, 
the  happiness  and  misery  that  are  predestined  for  us — 
do  not  impute  them  to  the  heavens,  for  in  the  way  of  Wisdom 
those  heavens  are  a thousandfold  more  helpless  than  thou  art. 


42. 

Whosoever  has  engrafted  the  leaf  of  love  upon  his  heart, 
not  one  day  of  his  life  has  been  wasted ; 
either  he  strives  to  meet  with  God’s  approbation, 
or  he  chooses  bodily  comfort  and  raises  the  wine-cup. 


43- 

Everywhere  that  there  has  been  a rose  or  tulip-bed, 
there  has  been  spilled  the  crimson  blood  of  a king; 
every  violet  shoot  that  grows  from  the  earth 
is  a mole  that  was  once  upon  the  cheek  of  a beauty. 

44. 

Be  prudent,  for  the  means  of  life  are  uncertain ; 
take  heed,  for  the  sword  of  destiny  is  keen. 

If  fortune  place  almond-sweets  in  thy  very  mouth, 
beware ! swallow  them  not,  for  poison  is  mingled  therein. 

45- 

One  jar  of  wine  and  a lover’s  lips,  on  the  bank  of  the  sown 
field — 

these  have  robbed  me  of  cash,  and  thee  of  the  credit. 

Some  are  pledged  to  heaven  or  hell, 

but  who  ever  went  to  hell,  and  who  ever  came  from  heaven  ? 

46. 

O thou,  whose  cheek  is  moulded  upon  the  model  of  the 
wild  rose, 

whose  face  is  cast  in  the  mould  of  Chinese  idols, 
yesterday  thy  amorous  glance  gave  to  the  Shah  of  Babylon 
the  moves  of  the  Knight,  the  Castle,  the  Bishop,  the  Pawn, 
and  the  Queen. 


English  T ranslation 


9 


47- 

Since  life  passes;  what  is  Baghdad  and  what  is  Balkh? 

When  the  cup  is  full,  what  matter  if  it  be  sweet  or  bitter? 
Drink  wine,  for  often,  after  thee  and  me,  this  moon 
will  pass  on  from  the  last  day  of  the  month  to  the  first,  and 
from  the  first  to  the  last. 

48. 

Of  those  who  draw  the  pure  date  wine 

and  those  who  spend  the  night  in  prayer, 

not  one  is  on  the  dry  land,  all  are  in  the  water. 

One  is  awake:  the  others  are  asleep. 

This  intellect  that  haunts  the  path  of  happiness 
keeps  saying  to  thee  a hundred  times  a day: — 

“Understand  in  this  single  moment  of  thine  existence,  that 
thou  art  not 

like  those  herbs  which  when  they  gather  them  spring  up  again.” 


50- 

Those  who  are  the  slaves  of  intellect  and  hair-splitting, 
have  perished  in  bickerings  about  existence  and  non-existence; 
go,  thou  ignorant  one,  and  choose  rather  grape-juice, 
for  the  ignorant  from  eating  dry  raisins  have  become  like  unripe 
grapes  themselues. 

51- 

My  coming  was  of  no  profit  to  the  heavenly  sphere, 
and  by  my  departure  naught  will  be  added  to  its  beauty  and 
dignity; 

neither  from  anyone  have  my  two  ears  heard 
what  is  the  object  of  this  my  coming  and  going. 


53. 

We  must  be  effaced  in  the  way  of  love, 
we  must  be  destroyed  in  the  talons  of  destiny ; 
O sweet-faced  Cup-bearer,  sit  thou  not  idle, 
give  to  me  water,  for  dust  I must  become. 


10 


RubaHyat  of  Omar  Khayyam 


53- 

Now  that  nothing  but  the  mere  name  of  our  happiness 
remains, 

the  only  old  friend  that  remains  is  new  wine; 

withhold  not  the  merry  hand  from  the  wine-cup 

to-day  that  nothing  but  the  cup  remains  within  our  reach. 


54- 

What  the  Pen  has  written  never  changes, 
and  grieving  only  results  in  deep  affliction ; 
even  though,  all  thy  life,  thou  sufferest  anguish, 
not  one  drop  becomes  increased  beyond  what  it  is. 


55- 

0 heart,  for  a while  seek  not  the  company  of  the  frail  ones; 
cease  for  a while  to  be  engrossed  with  the  commerce  of  love. 
Frequent  the  thresholds  of  the  darvishes — 
perhaps  thou  mayest  be  accepted  for  awhile  by  the  accepted 
people. 


56. 

Those  who  adorn  the  Heavens  for  a fragment  of  time, 
come,  and  go,  and  come  again  as  time  goes  on; 
in  the  skirt  of  Heaven,  and  in  the  pocket  of  earth, 
are  creatures  who,  while  God  dies  not,  will  yet  be  born. 


57- 

Those  whose  beliefs  are  founded  upon  hypocrisy, 
come  and  draw  a distinction  between  the  body  and  the  soul; 
I will  put  the  wine  jar  on  my  head,  if,  when  I have  done  so, 
they  place  a comb  upon  my  head,  as  if  I were  a cock. 

58. 

The  bodies  which  people  this  heavenly  vault, 
puzzled  the  learned. 

Beware  lest  thou  losest  the  end  of  the  string  of  wisdom, 
for  evm  the  controllers  themselves  become  giddy. 


English  T vanslation 


II 


59- 

I am  not  the  man  to  dread  my  non-existence, 
for  that  half  seems  pleasanter  to  me  than  this  half; 
this  is  a life  which  God  has  lent  me, 

I will  surrender  it  when  the  time  of  surrender  comes, 

60. 

This  caravan  of  life  passes  by  mysteriously ; 
mayest  thou  seize  the  moment  that  passes  happily! 

Cup-bearer,  why  grieve  about  the  to-morrow  of  thy  patrons  ? 
give  us  a cup  of  wine,  for  the  night  wanes. 

61. 

Being  old,  my  love  for  thee  led  my  head  into  a snare  ; 
if  not,  how  comes  it  that  my  hand  holds  the  cup  of  date-wine? 
My  sweetheart  has  destroyed  the  penitence  born  of  reason, 
and  the  passing  seasons  have  torn  the  garment  that  patience 
sewed. 

62. 

Although  wine  has  rent  my  veil, 

so  long  as  I have  a soul  I will  not  be  separated  from  wine; 

I am  in  perplexity  concerning  vintners,  for  they — 
what  will  they  buy  that  is  better  than  what  they  sell  ? 

63- 

So  much  generosity  and  kindness  at  the  beginning,  why  was  it? 
and  that  maintenance  of  me  with  delights  and  blandishments, 
why  was  it  ? 

Now  Thine  only  endeavour  is  to  afflict  my  heart; 

after  all,  what  wrong  have  I done — once  more,  why  was  it? 

64. 

In  my  mind  may  there  be  desire  for  idols  houri-like, 
in  my  hand  may  there  be,  all  the  year  round,  the  juice  of  the 
grape ; 

they  say  to  me,  May  God  give  thee  repentance ! ” 

He  himself  will  not  give  it;  I will  none  of  it;  let  it  be  far  off! 


12 


RubaHyat  of  Omccr  Khayyam 


65- 

In  the  tavern  thou  canst  not  perform  the  Ablution  save  with 
wine, 

and  thou  canst  not  purify  a tarnished  reputation  ; 
be  happy,  for  this  veil  of  temperance  of  ours 
is  so  torn  that  it  cannot  be  repaired. 


66. 

I saw  upon  the  terrace  of  a house  a man,  alone, 
who  trampled  upon  the  clay,  holding  it  in  contempt; 
that  clay  said  to  him  in  mystic  language: — 

“ Be  still,  for  like  me  thou  wilt  be  much  trampled  upon.’* 

67. 

It  is  a pleasant  day,  and  the  weather  is  neither  hot  nor  cold ; 
the  rain  has  washed  the  dust  from  the  faces  of  the  roses ; 
the  nightingale  in  the  Pehlevi  tongue  to  the  yellow  rose 
cries  ever : — Thou  must  drink  wine ! ” 

68. 

Ere  that  faU  makes  assault  upon  thy  head, 
give  orders  that  they  bring  thee  rose-coloured  wine ; 
thou  art  not  treasure,  O heedless  dunce,  that  thee 
they  hide  in  the  earth  and  then  dig  up  again. 

69. 

Take  heed  to  stay  me  with  the  wine-cup, 
and  make  this  amber  face  like  a ruby; 
when  I die,  wash  me  with  wine, 

and  out  of  the  wood  of  the  vine  make  the  planks  of  my  coffin. 

70. 

O Shah ! destiny  appointed  thee  to  sovereignty, 
and  saddled  for  thee  the  horse  of  empire ; 
when  thy  golden-hoofed  charger  moved, 
setting  foot  upon  the  clay,  the  earth  became  gilded. 


English  Tymslation 


13 


71- 

A love  that  is  imaginary  has  no  value; 
like  a fire  half-dead,  it  gives  no  heat. 

A trne  lover,  throughout  the  month,  and  year,  and  night,  and  day, 
takes  neither  rest,  nor  peace,  nor  food,  nor  sleep. 


72. 

No  one  has  solved  the  tangled  secrets  of  eternity, 
no  one  has  set  foot  beyond  the  orbit, 
since,  so  far  as  I can  see,  from  tyro  to  teacher, 
impotent  are  the  hands  of  all  men  born  of  woman. 


73- 

Set  limits  to  thy  desire  for  worldly  things  and  live  content, 
sever  the  bonds  of  thy  dependence  upon  the  good  and  bad  of  life, 
take  wine  in  hand  and  play  with  the  curls  of  a loved  one ; for 
quickly 

all  passeth  away — and  how  many  of  these  days  remain? 

74- 

The  heavens  rain  down  blossoms  from  the  clouds, 
thou  mayest  say  that  they  shed  blossoms  into  the  garden ; 
in  a lily-like  cup  I pour  rosy  wine, 
as  the  violet  clouds  pour  down  jessamine. 


75- 

I drink  wine,  and  every  one  drinks  who  like  me  is  worthy  of  it ; 
my  wine-drinking  is  but  a small  thing  to  Him ; 

, God  knew,  on  the  Day  of  Creation,  that  I should  drink  wine  ; 
if  I do  not  drink  wine,  God’s  knowledge  was  ignorance. 

76. 

Do  not  allow  sorrow  to  embrace  thee, 
nor  an  idle  grief  to  occupy  thy  days ; 

forsake  not  the  book,  and  the  lover’s  lips,  and  the  green  bank 
of  the  field, 

ere  that  the  earth  enfold  thee  in  its  bosom. 


14 


Ruba’iyat  of  Omar  Khayyam 


77- 

Drink  wine,  that  will  banish  thy  abundant  woes, 
and  will  banish  thought  of  the  Seventy-two  Sects; 
avoid  not  the  alchemist,  for,  from  him, 

thou  takest  one  draught,  and  he  banishes  a thousand  calamities. 

78- 

Even  though  wine  is  forbidden,  for  all  that  it  depends  upon  who 
drinks  it, 

and  then  in  what  quantity,  and  also  with  whom  he  drinks  it ; 
these  three  conditions  being  as  they  should  be;  say! 
who  drinks  wine  if  a wise  man  does  not  do  so  ? 

79- 

Drink  wine,  for  thy  body  becomes  atoms  in  the  earth, 

thine  earth,  after  that,  becomes  goblets  and  jars ; 

be  thou  heedless  of  hell  and  heaven, 

why  should  a wise  man  be  deceived  about  such  things? 

8o. 

Now  is  the  time  when  by  the  spring-breezes  the  world  is 
adorned, 

and  in  hope  of  rain  it  opens  its  eyes, 

the  hands  of  Moses  appear  like  froth  upon  the  bough, 

the  breath  of  Jesus  comes  forth  from  the  earth. 


81. 

Every  draught  that  the  Cup-bearer  scatters  upon  the  earth 
quenches  the  fire  of  anguish  in  some  afflicted  eye. 

Praise  be  to  God  1 thou  realizest  that  wine 

is  a juice  that  frees  thy  heart  from  a hundred  pains. 

82. 

Every  morning  the  dew  bedecks  the  faces  of  the  tulips, 
the  crests  of  the  violets  in  the  garden  are  bent  downward  ; 
verily,  most  pleasing  to  me  is  the  rosebud 
which  gathers  its  skirts  close  around  itself. 


English  Translation 


15 


83. 

Friends,  when  ye  hold  a meeting  together, 
it  behoves  ye  warmly  to  remember  your  friend; 
when  ye  drink  wholesome  wine  together, 
and  my  turn  comes,  turn  a goblet  upside  down. 

84. 

Friends,  when  with  consent  ye  make  a tryst  together, 
and  take  delight  in  one  another’s  charms, 
when  the  Cup-bearer  takes  round  in  his  hand  the  Mugh  wine, 
remember  a certain  helpless  one  in  your  benediction. 

85. 

One  cup  of  wine  is  worth  a hundred  hearts  and  religions, 
one  draught  of  wine  is  worth  the  empire  of  China, 
saving  ruby  wine  there  is  not,  on  the  face  of  earth, 
any  acrid  thing  that  is  worth  a thousand  sweet  souls. 

86. 

If  thou  desirest  Him,  be  separated  from  wife  and  children, 
bravely  move  thine  abode  from  thy  relations  and  friends; 
whatever  is,  is  an  hindrance  on  the  road  for  thee, 
how  canst  thou  journey  with  these  hindrances? — remove  them! 

87. 

Bring  me  that  ruby  in  a clear  glass, 

bring  me  that  companion  and  intimate  of  all  excellent  people: 
since  thou  knowest  that  the  duration  of  this  earthly  world 
is  a wind  that  quickly  passes  by, — bring  me  wine. 

88. 

Arise ! bring  physic  to  this  oppressed  heart, 
bring  that  musk-scented  and  rose-coloured  wine ; 
if  thou  desirest  the  elements  of  sorrow’s  antidote, 
bring  ruby  wine  and  the  silk  stringed  lute. 


i6 


RubaHyat  of  Omar  Khayyam 


8g. 

I saw  a potter  in  the  bazaar  yesterday, 
he  was  violently  pounding  the  fresh  clay, 
and  that  clay  said  to  him,  in  mystic  language, 

“ I was  once  like  thee — so  treat  me  well.’* 

go. 

Drink  of  that  wine  that  is  eternal  life, 

it  is  the  stock-in-trade  of  youthful  pleasure,  drink ! 

it  burns  like  fire,  but  sorrows 

it  makes  like  the  water  of  life — drink ! 


91- 

Follow  not  the  Traditions,  and  leave  alone  the  Commands, 
withhold  not  from  anyone  the  morsel  that  thou  possessest: 
neither  slander,  nor  afflict  the  heart  of  anyone, 

I guarantee  you  the  world  beyond — bring  wine ! 

g2. 

Wine  is  rose-red,  and  the  cup  is  filhd  with  the  water  of  roses, 
— maybe, 

in  the  crystal  casket  is  a pure  ruby,— maybe, 
a melted  ruby  is  in  the  water, — maybe, 
moonlight  is  the  veil  of  the  sun, — ^maybe. 

93- 

Every  vow  we  make,  we  break  again, 

we  shut  once  more  upon  ourselves  the  door  of  fame  and 
fair  repute ; 

blame  me  not  if  I act  as  a fool, 

for  once  more  am  I drunken  with  the  wine  of  love. 

94- 

To  speak  plain  language,  and  not  in  parables, 
we  are  the  pieces  and  heaven  plays  the  game, 
we  are  played  together  in  a baby-game  upon  the  chessboard 
of  existence, 

and  one  by  one  we  return  to  the  box  of  non-existence- 


English  Translation 


17 


95- 

Oh,  heart ! since  in  this  world  truth  itself  is  hyperbole, 
why  art  thou  so  disquieted  with  this  trouble  and  abasement  ? 
resign  thy  body  to  destiny,  and  adapt  thyself  to  the  times, 
for,  what  the  Pen  has  written,  it  will  not  re-write  for  thy  sake. 

96. 

On  the  face  of  the  rose  there  is  still  a cloud-shadow, 
in  my  nature  and  heart  there  is  still  a desire  for  wine ; 
sleep  not,  what  right  hast  thou  to  sleep  yet? 
give  me  wine,  sweetheart,  for  it  is  still  daylight. 


97- 

Go  ! throw  dust  upon  the  face  of  the  heavens, 
drink  wine,  and  consort  with  the  fair  of  face ; 
what  time  is  this  for  worship  ? and  what  time  is  this  for 
supplication  ? 

since,  of  all  those  that  have  departed,  not  one  has  returned? 

g8. 

Fill  the  cup ! for  the  day  breaks  white  like  snow, 
learn  colour  from  the  wine  that  is  ruby; 
take  two  fragrant  aloe  logs,  and  brighten  the  assembly, 
make  one  into  a lute,  and  burn  the  other. 


99- 

We  have  returned  to  our  wonted  debauch, 
we  have  renounced — the  Five  Prayers! 
wherever  the  goblet  is,  there  thou  mayst  see  us, 
our  necks  stretched  out  like  that  of  the  bottle. 

100. 

In  great  desire  I pressed  my  lips  to  the  lip  of  the  jar, 
to  enquire  from  it  how  long  life  might  be  attained ; 
it  joined  its  lip  to  mine  and  whispered: — 

Drink  wine,  for,  to  this  world,  thou  returnest  not.” 


2 


i8 


RuhaHyat  of  Omar  Khayyam 


101. 

I will  give  thee  counsel  if  thou  wilt  give  ear  to  me, 
for  the  sake  of  God  do  not  wear  the  garment  of  hypocrisy, 
the  hereafter  will  fill  all  hours,  and  the  world  is  but  a moment, 
do  not  sell  the  kingdom  of  eternity  for  the  sake  of  one  moment. 

102. 

Khayyam,  if  thou  art  drunk  with  wine,  be  happy, 
if  thou  reposest  with  one  tulip-cheeked,  be  happy, 
since  the  end  of  all  things  is  that  thou  wilt  be  naught; 
whilst  thou  art,  imagine  that  thou  art  not, — be  happy  ! 

103. 

I went  last  night  into  the  workshop  of  a potter, 

I saw  two  thousand  pots,  some  speaking,  and  some  silent ; 
suddenly  one  of  the  pots  cried  out  aggressively: — 

Where  are  the  pot  maker,  and  the  pot  buyer,  and  the  pot 
seller  ? ’’ 

104. 

Of  this  spirit,  that  they  call  pure  wine, 
they  say: — It  is  a remedy  for  a ruined  heart”; 
set  quickly  before  me  two  or  three  heavily  filled  cups, 
why  do  they  call  a good  water  '^wicked  water”? 

105. 

Regard  my  virtues  one  by  one,  and  forgive  my  crimes  ten 
by  ten, 

pardon  every  crime  that  is  past,  the  reckoning  is  with  God ! 
let  not  the  wind  and  air  fan  the  flame  of  thy  rancour, 
by  Muhammad's  tomb ! forgive  me. 

106. 

Verily  wine  in  the  goblet  is  a delicate  spirit, 
in  the  body  of  the  jar,  a delicate  soul  reposes, 
nothing  heavy  is  worthy  to  be  the  friend  of  wine 
save  the  wine-cup,  for  that  is,  at  the  same  time,  heavy  and 
delicate. 


English  Translation 


19 


107. 

Where  is  the  limit  to  eternity  to  come,  and  where  to  eternity 
past? 

now  is  the  time  of  joy,  there  is  no  substitute  for  wine: 
both  theory  and  practice  have  passed  beyond  my  ken, 
hut  wine  unties  the  knot  of  every  difficulty. 

108. 

This  vault  of  heaven,  beneath  which  we  stand  bewildered, 
we  know  to  be  a sort  of  magic-lantern: 

know  thou  that  the  sun  is  the  lamp-flame  and  the  universe  is 
the  lamp, 

we  are  like  figures  that  revolve  in  it. 

109. 

I do  not  always  prevail  over  my  nature, — but  what  can  I do  ? 
and  I suffer  for  my  actions, — but  what  can  I do  ? 

I verily  believe  that  Thou  wilt  generously  pardon  me 
on  account  of  my  shame  that  Thou  hast  seen  what  I have 
done, — hut  what  can  I do? 

no. 

Let  me  arise  and  seek  pure  wine, 

make  thou  the  colour  of  my  cheek  like  that  of  the  jujube  fruit, 
as  for  this  meddling  intellect,  a fist-full  of  wine 
will  I throw  in  its  face,  to  make  it  sleep. 

III. 

How  long  shall  we  continue  slaves  to  every-day  problems  ? 
what  matter  whether  we  live  one  year,  or  one  day,  in  this  world  ? 
pour  out  a cup  of  wine,  before  that  we 
become  pots  in  the  workshop  of  the  potters. 

m. 

Since  our  abode  in  this  monastery  is  not  permanent 
without  the  Cup-bearer  and  the  beloved,  it  is  painful  to  support 
life; 

how  long  of  ancient  creeds  or  new,  O philosopher? 
when  I have  left  it  what  matter  if  the  world  be  old  or  new? 


20 


RubaHyat  of  Omar  Khayyam 


113- 

In  loving  Thee  I incur  reproaches  for  a hundred  sins, 
and  if  I fail  in  this  obligation  I pay  a penalty : 
if  my  life  remain  faithful  to  Thy  cruelty, 

please  God,  I shall  have  less  than  that  to  bear  till  the  Judg- 
ment Day. 

114. 

The  world  being  fleeting,  I practise  naught  but  artifice, 

I hold  only  with  cheerfulness  and  sparkling  wine; 
they  say  to  me  : — “ May  God  grant  thee  penitence.” 

He  himself  does  not  give  it,  and  if  He  gives  it,  I will  none  of  it. 

II5- 

Although  I have  come  with  an  air  of  supplication  to  the  mosque, 
by  Allah!  I have  not  come  to  pray; 

I came  one  day  and  stole  a prayer-mat — 
that  sin  wears  out,  and  I come  again  and  again. 

116. 

When  I am  abased  beneath  the  foot  of  destiny 

and  am  rooted  up  from  the  hope  of  life, 

take  heed  that  thou  makest  nothing  but  a goblet  of  my  clay, 

haply  when  it  is  full  of  wine  I may  revive, 

117. 

My  heart  does  not  distinguish  between  the  bait  and  the  trap, 
one  counsel  urges  it  towards  the  mosque,  another  towards 
the  cup  ; 

nevertheless  the  wine-cup,  and  the  loved  one,  and  I continually 
together, 

are  better,  cooked,  in  a tavern,  than  raw,  in  a monastery. 

118. 

It  is  morning:  let  us  for  a moment  inhale  rose-coloured  wine, 
and  shatter  against  a stone  this  vessel  of  reputation  and  honour; 
let  us  cease  to  strive  after  what  has  long  been  our  hope, 
and  play  with  long  ringlets  and  the  handle  of  the  lute. 


English  Translation 


21 


119. 

We  have  preferred  a corner  and  two  loaves  to  the  world, 
and  we  have  put  away  greed  of  its  estate  and  magnificence; 
we  have  bought  poverty  with  our  heart  and  soul — 
in  poverty  we  have  discerned  great  riches. 

120. 

I know  the  outwardness  of  existence  and  of  non-existence, 

I know  the  inwardness  of  all  that  is  high  and  low ; 
nevertheless  let  me  be  modest  about  my  own  knowledge 
if  I recognise  any  degree  higher  than  drunkenness. 

121. 

For  a while,  when  young,  we  frequented  a teacher, 
for  a while  we  were  contented  with  our  proficiency; 
behold  the  foundation  of  the  discourse: — what  happened  to  us? 
we  came  in  like  water  and  we  depart  like  wind. 

122. 

To  him  who  understands  the  mysteries  of  the  world, 
the  joy  and  sorrow  of  the  world  is  all  the  same; 
since  the  good  and  the  bad  of  the  world  will  come  to  an  end ; 
what  matter,  Since  it  must  end  ? an  thou  wilt,  be  all  pain,  or, 
an  thou  wilt,  all  remedy. 

123. 

So  far  as  in  thee  lies,  follow  the  example  of  the  profligate, 

destroy  the  foundations  of  prayer  and  fasting: 

hear  thou  the  Word  of  Truth  from  Omar  Khayyam, 

Drink  wine,  rob  on  the  highway,  and  be  benevolent.” 

124. 

Since  the  harvest  for  the  human  race,  in  this  wilderness, 
is  naught  but  to  suffer  affliction  or  to  give  up  the  ghost, 
light-hearted  is  he  who  passes  quickly  firom  this  world, 
and  he  who  never  came  into  the  world  is  at  rest. 


23 


RxibcCiyat  of  Omar  Khayyam 


125. 

Darvish!  rend  from  thy  body  the  figured  veil, 
rather  than  sacrifice  thy  body  for  the  sake  of  that  veil ; 
go  and  throw  u'pon  thy  shoulders  the  old  rug  of  poverty — 
beneath  that  rug  thou  art  equal  to  a sultan, 

126. 

Behold  the  evil  conduct  of  this  vault  of  heaven, 
behold  the  world — empty  by  the  passing  away  of  friends ; 
as  far  as  thou  art  able  live  for  thyself  for  one  moment, 
look  not  for  to-morrow,  seek  not  yesterday,  behold  the  present ! 

127. 

To  drink  wine  and  consort  with  a company  of  the  beautiful 
is  better  than  practising  the  hypocrisy  of  the  zealot; 
if  the  lover  and  the  drunkard  are  doomed  to  hell, 
then  no  one  will  see  the  face  of -heaven. 

128. 

One  cannot  consume  one’s  happy  heart  with  sorrow, 
nor  consume  the  pleasure  of  one’s  life  upon  the  touchstone ; 
no  one  is  to  be  found  who  knows  what  is  to  be; 
wine,  and  a loved  one,  and  to  repose  according  to  one’s  desire,— 
these  things  are  necessary. 

129. 

This  heavenly  vault,  for  the  sake  of  my  destruction  and  thine, 
wages  war  upon  my  pure  soul  and  thine; 
sit  upon  the  green  sward,  0 my  Idol ! for  it  will  not  be  long 
ere  that  green  sward  shall  grow  from  my  dust  and  thine. 

130. 

What  profits  it,  our  coming  and  going? 

and  wh^re  is  the  woof  for  the  warp  of  the  stuff  of  our  life  ? 

How  many  delicate  bodies  the  world 

burns  away  to  dust ! and  where  is  the  smoke  of  them  ? 


E nglish  T ransldtion 


23 


131. 

Flee  from  the  study  of  all  sciences — ’tis  better  thus, 
and  twine  thy  fingers  in  the  curly  locks  of  a loved  one — *tis 
better  thus, 

ere  that  fate  shall  spill  thy  blood; 

pour  thou  the  blood  of  the  bottle  into  the  cup — ’tis  better  thus. 

132. 

Ah ! I have  brushed  the  tavern  doorway  with  my  moustaches, 
I have  bidden  farewell  to  the  good  and  evil  of  both  worlds  ; 
though  both  the  worlds  should  fall  like  balls  in  my  street, 
seek  me, — ye  will  find  me  sleeping  like  a drunkard, 

133- 

From  everything  save  wine  abstinence  is  best, 

and  that  wine  is  best  when  served  by  drunken  beauties  in  a pavilion, 

drinking,  and  Kalendarism,  and  erring,  are  best, 

one  draught  of  wine  from  Mah  to  Mahi  is  best. 

134- 

This  heavenly  vault  is  like  a bowl,  fallen  upside  down, 
under  which  all  the  wise  have  fallen  captive, 
choose  thou  the  manner  of  friendship  of  the  goblet  and  the  jar, 
they  are  lip  to  lip,  and  blood  has  fallen  between  them. 

135- 

See,  the  skirt  of  the  rose  has  been  torn  by  the  breeze, 
the  nightingale  rejoices  in  the  beauty  of  the  rose ; 
sit  in  the  shade  of  the  rose,  for,  by  the  wind,  many  roses 
have  been  scattered  to  earth  and  have  become  dust. 

136. 

How  long  shall  I grieve  about  what  I have  or  have  not, 
and  whether  I shall  pass  this  life  light-heartedly  or  not? 

Fill  up  the  wine-cup,  for  I do  not  know 

that  I shall  breathe  out  this  breath  that  I am  drawing  in. 


24 


RitbaHyat  of  Omar  Khayyam 


137- 

Submit  not  to  the  sorrow  of  this  iniquitous  world, 
remind  us  not  of  sorrow  for  those  who  have  passed  away, 
give  thine  heart  only  to  one  jasmine-bosomed  and  fairy-born, 
be  not  without  wine,  and  cast  not  thy  life  to  the  winds. 

138. 

Though  thy  life  pass  sixty  years,  do  not  give  up ; 

wherever  thou  directest  thy  steps,  walk  not  save  when  drunk; 

before  they  make  the  hollow  of  thy  skull  into  a jar, 

lower  not  the  jar  from  thy  shoulder,  neither  relinquish  the  cup. 

139- 

One  draught  of  old  wine  is  better  than  a new  kingdom, 
avoid  any  way  save  that  of  wine— ’tis  better  so  ; 
the  cup  is  a hundred  times  better  than  the  kingdom  of  FerTdun, 
the  tile  that  covers  the  jar  is  better  than  the  crown  of  Kal- 
Khosru. 


140. 

Those,  O Saki,  who  have  gone  before  us, 
have  fallen  asleep,  O Saki,  in  the  dust  of  self-esteem ; 
go  thou  and  drink  wine,  and  hear  the  truth  from  me, 
whatever  they  have  said,  O Saki,  is  hut  wind. 

141. 

Thou  hast  broken  my  jug  of  wine,  O Lord; 

Thou  hast  shut  upon  me  the  door  of  happiness,  O Lord ; 
thou  hast  spilled  my  pure  wine  upon  the  earth ; 
may  I perish ! but  thou  art  strange,  O Lord ! 

142. 

O heaven ! thou  givest  something  to  every  base  creature, 
thou  suppliest  baths,  and  millstreams,  and  canals; 
the  pure  man  plays  hazard  for  his  night's  provisions : 
wouldst  thou  give  a fig  for  such  a heaven  ? 


English  Translation 


25 


143- 

0 heart!  at  the  mysterious  secret  thou  arrivest  not, 

at  the  conceits  of  the  ingenious  philosophers  thou  arrivest  not ; 

make  thyself  a heaven  here  with  wine  and  cup, 

for  at  that  place  where  heaven  is,  thou  mayst  arrive,  or  mayst  not. 


144. 

Thou  eatest  always  smoke  from  the  kitchen  of  the  world ; 
how  long  wilt  thou  suffer  miseries  concerning  what  is  or  is  not  ? 
thou  desirest  not  a stock  in  trade,  for  its  source  weakens, 
md  who  will  consume  the  capital,  seeing  that  thou  consumest 
all  the  profit  ? ^ 

145- 

O soul!  if  thou  canst  purify  thyself  from  the  dust  of  the  body, 

thou,  naked  spirit,  canst  soar  in  the  heavens, 

the  Empyrean  is  thy  sphere, — let  it  be  thy  shame, 

that  thou  comest  and  art  a dweller  within  the  confines  of  earth. 


146. 

I smote  the  glass  wine-cup  upon  a stone  last  night, 
my  head  was  turned  that  I did  so  base  a thing; 
the  cup  said  to  me  in  mystic  language, 

“I  was  like  thee,  and  thou  also  wilt  be  like  me.” 


147. 

Grasp  the  wine-cup  and  the  flagon,  0 heart’s  desire! 
pleasantly,  pleasantly,  and  cheerfully,  wander  in  the  garden 
by  the  river  brink; 

many  are  the  excellent  folk  whom  malicious  heaven 
has  made  a hundred  times  into  cups,  and  a hundred  times  into 
flagons. 

148. 

In  a thousand  places  on  the  road  I walk.  Thou  placest  snares. 
Thou  sayest,  “ I will  catch  thee  if  thou  placest  step  in  them  ” ; 
in  no  smallest  thing  is  the  world  independent  of  Thee, 

Thou  orderest  all  things,  and  callest  me  rebellious. 


3 


26 


RubaHyat  of  Omar  Khayyam 


149. 

I desire  a little  ruby  wine  and  a book  of  verses, 
just  enough  to  keep  me  alive  and  half  a loaf  is  needful; 
and  then,  that  I and  thou,  should  sit  in  a desolate  place 
is  better  than  the  kingdom  of  a sultan. 


150- 

Do  not  give  way  so  much  to  vain  grief, — live  happily, 
and,  in  the  way  of  injustice,  set  thou  an  example  of  justice, 
since  the  final  end  of  this  world  is  nothingness ; 
suppose  thyself  to  be  nothing,  and  be  free. 

151- 

Gaze  as  I may  on  all  sides, 

in  the  garden  flows  a stream  from  the  river  Kausar, 
the  desert  becomes  like  heaven,  thou  mayst  say  hell  has 
disappeared, 

sit  thou  then  in  heaven  with  one  heavenly-faced. 

152. 

Be  happy!  they  settled  thy  reward  yesterday, 
and  beyond  the  reach  of  all  thy  longings  is  yesterday; 
live  happily,  for  without  any  importunity  on  thy  part  yesterday, 
they  appointed  with  certainty  what  thou  wilt  do  to-morrow, — 
yesterday  1 

153- 

Pour  out  the  red  wine  of  pure  tulip  colour, 
draw  the  pure  blood  from  the  throat  of  the  jar, 
for  to-day,  beside  the  wine-cup,  there  is  not,  for  me, 
one  friend  who  possesses  a pure  heart, 

154- 

To  the  ear  of  my  heart  Heaven  whispered  secretly: — 

‘'The  commands  that  are  decreed  thou  mayst  learn  from  me: 
had  I a hand  in  my  own  revolutions, 

I would  have  saved  myself  from  giddiness.’' 


English  Translation 


27 


155- 

If  a loaf  of  wheaten-bread  be  forthcoming, 
a gourd  of  wine,  and  a thigh-bone  of  mutton, 
and  then,  if  thou  and  I he  sitting  in  the  wilderness, — 
that  would  be  a joy  to  which  no  sultan  can  set  bounds, 

156. 

If  henceforth  two  measures  of  wine  come  to  thy  hand, 
drink  thou  wine  in  every  assembly  and  congregation, 
for  He  who  made  the  world  does  not  occupy  Himself 
about  moustaches  like  thine,  or  a beard  like  mine. 

157- 

Had  I charge  of  the  matter  I would  not  have  come, 
and  likewise  could  I control  my  going,  where  should  I go  ? 
were  it  not  better  than  that,  that  in  this  world 
I had  neither  come,  nor  gone,  nor  lived? 

158. 

The  month  of  Ramadan  passes  and  Shawwal  comes, 
the  season  of  increase,  and  joy,  and  story-tellers  comes ; 
now  comes  that  time  when  ^'Bottles  upon  the  shoulder!” 
they  say, — for  the  porters  come  and  are  back  to  back. 


END  OF  THE  QUATRAINS. 


Written  by  the  humble  slave,  who  is  in  need  of  mercies 
of  Eternal  God,  Mahmud  Yerbudakl.  Finished  in  the  last 
decade  of  Safar,  with  blessing  and  victory,  in  the  year  Eight 
hundred  and  sixty-five  of  the  Hijrah  of  the  Prophet,  upon 
whom  be  peace,  and  benediction,  and  honour;  in  the  capital 
Shiraz. 

May  God  most  high  protect  her  from  evils. 


THE  ORIGINAL  MANUSCRIPT 


The  Original  Manuscript 


35 


7(3 


75 


The  Ongimil  Manuscript 


37 


74 


73 


1 he  Original  Manuscript 


39 


The  Original  Manuscript 


55 


55 


The’  Original  Mamiscript 


67 


44 


The  Original  Manuscript 


83 


The  Origmal  Mamiscript 


The  Origutal  Manuscript 


y ^ J > -i^_/ «■  .y 

i 

i - ** Vv  . "" 

1 ■ ^ ^ )t V Ifj ^ ^ 

• 

' .’i ;'  ' ' ‘ 

' . 

iS 

^7 

TEXT,  TRANSCRIPT,  TRANSLATION 
AND  NOTES 


9— a 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  REFERENCES 

With  the  Abbreviations  used  in  the  Notes  to  the  Text  and  Translation, 


In  order  to  save  reiteration  in  referring  to  the  translations, 
texts,  and  other  authorities  consulted  in  the  construction  of  this 
work,  they  are  referred  to  in  the  notes  in  the  following  manner : — 

C. — The  transcript  of  the  MS.  No.  1548  in  the  Asiatic  Society’s 
Library  at  Calcutta,  which  Prof.  Cowell  had  made  for 
Edward  FitzGerald  {vide  Introduction). 

P. — The  MS.  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationals  in  Paris.  Sup- 
plement Persan,  No.  823. 

B,  ii. — The  Bankipur  MS.  described  oq  page  xi  (Introduction). 

L. — The  Lucknow  lithographed  edition  (1894). 

S.  P- — The  edition  lithographed  at  St.  Petersburg  in  the  year 
A.H.  1306  (a.d.  1888),  which  is  copied  from  an  edition  litho- 
graphed at  Tabriz,  a.h.  1285  (a.d.  1868). 

B. — The  Bombay  lithographed  edition  of  1880.  It  is  almost 
identical  with  the  Lucknow  Edition. 

Note. — The  ruba’iyat  are  not  numbered  in  any  oi  the  above,  but  I 
have  numbered  my  copies  for  convenience  of  reference.  The  numbers 
in  the  lithographs  may  be  taken  as  correct ; those  in  the  MS.  are  as 
correct  as  ordinary  care  can  make  them,  regard  being  had  to  the 
Oriental  habit  of  writing  extra  quatrains  in  the  margins — at  least,  they 
are  very  closely  approximate. 

N. — J,  B.  Nicolas.  “ Les  Quatrains  de  Kheyam,  traduits  du 
Persan.”  Paris,  1867.  Imprimerie  Imperiale. 

W. — E.  H.  Whinfield.  “ The  Quatrains  of  Omar  Khayyto. 
The  Persian  text  with  an  English  verse  translation.” 
London,  1883.  Triibner. 

F.  i.— Edward  FitzGerald’s  poem,  ist  edition.  London,  1859. 
Quaritch. 

F.  ii. — Ditto,  2nd  edition.  London,  1868.  Quaritch. 

F.  hi. — Ditto,  3rd  edition.  London,  1872.  Quaritch. 

F.  iv. — Ditto,  4th  edition.  London,  1879.  Quaritch. 

F.  V. — Ditto,  5th  edition.  London,  1890.  Macmillan. 

De  T. — Garcin  de  Tassy.  ^‘Note  sur  les  Rubaiyat  de  ’Omar 
Khaiyam.”  Paris,  1857.  Imprimerie  Imperiale.  (Extract 
from  the  Journal  Asiatique,  1857.) 

L.  R. — “ Letters  and  Literary  Remains  of  Edward  FitzGerald.” 
London,  1889.  Macmillan.  3 vols. 


ii6  Bihlio graphical  References 

D.  — N.  H.  Dole.  “Rubaiyat  of  Omar  Khayyam:  English, 

French,  and  German  translations.  Comparatively  arranged 
in  accordance  with  the  text  of  Edward  FitzGerald’s  version. 
With  further  selections,  notes,  biographies,  bibliography, 
and  other  material.”  Boston,  i8g6.  J.  Knight. 

E.  C. — E.  B.  Cowell  in  the  Calcutta  Review^  No.  59,  March, 

1858,  p.  149.  “ A Review  of  the  Algebra  of  Omar  Khayyam 
(Paris,  1851)  and  of  Dr.  Sprenger’s  Catalogue.” 

S. — A.  Sprenger.  “ Catalogue  of  the  Arabic,  Persian,  and 
Hindustany  Manuscripts  of  the  libraries  of  the  Kings  of 
Oudh.”  Vol.  I.  Calcutta,  1854. 

M. — Mantic  ut  tair,  ou  le  langage  des  oiseaux,  par  Ferid  ud  din 
Attar,  publie  en  persan  par  M.  Garcin  de  Tassy.  Paris, 
1857.  Translation,  Paris,  1863. 

P.N. — “Pend  Nameh,  ou  le  livre  des  Conseils  de  Ferid-eddin 
Attar,  traduit  et  publie  par  M.  le  B°“.  Silvestre  de  Sacy.” 
Paris,  i8ig.  Persian  text  and  translation  with  variorum 
notes. 

Gulistan. — When  referring  to  this  work  I have  used  the  text 
printed  from  the  Calcutta  edition  by  Francis  Gladwin  in 
1806,  revised  by  Sir  Wm.  Gore  Ouseley  (London,  1809) ; the 
Translation  privately  printed  for  members  of  the  Kama 
Shastra  Society  at  “Benares”  (London)  in  1888;  and  the 
standard  translation  of  Edward  B.  Eastwick  (last  edition, 
London,  1880  ; Trubner). 

Beharistan. — When  referring  to  this  work,  I have  used  the  two 
British  Museum  MSS.  Add.  7775  and  18,579,  and  the 
translation  privately  printed  for  the  members  of  the  Kama 
Shastra  Society  at  “Benares”  (London)  in  1887. 

Steingass. — “A  Comprehensive  Persian- English  Dictionary  . . . 
being  Johnson  and  Richardson’s  Persian,  Arabic,  and 
English  Dictionary,”  revised,  enlarged,  and  entirely  re- 
constructed, by  F.  Steingass,  Ph.D.  London  (W.  H. 
Allen  & Co.),  n.d.  (1892). 


Note. — It  may  be  taken  as  a general  rule  that,  in  the  actual  notesy 
where  N.  is  mentioned  S.  P.  is  also  implied,  and  where 
L.  is  mentioned  B,  is  implied ; that  is,  of  course,  when 
references  are  given  to  both  authorities  in  the  headnote  to  a 
quatrain. 


lo 


NOTES. 


I. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  274,  P.  4,  B.  ii.  302.  L.  423,  S.  P 228,  B.  419,  N 229, 
W.  268,  and  (as  also  the  following  one)  is  out  of  its  diwaji  order,  and  was  probably 
placed  at  the  commencement  of  this  MS.  to  satisfy  some  scruple  of  the  writer, 
Mahmud  Yerbudaki.  Edward  FitzGerald  (F.  v.,  Preface,  pp.  14,  15)  remarks 
concerning  it;  “The  scribes  of  the  Oxford  and  Calcutta  MSS.  seem  to  do  their 
work  under  a sort  of  protest,  each  beginning  with  a tetrastich  (whether  genuine 
or  not)  taken  out  of  its  alphabetical  order.  . . . The  Bodleian  Quatrain  pleads 
Pantheism  by  way  of  justification : 

‘ If  I myself  upon  a looser  Creed 
Have  loosely  strung  the  Jewel  of  Good-deed, 

Let  this  one  thing  for  my  Atonement  plead, 

That  One  for  Two  I never  did  mis-read.‘  ” 

The  Calcutta  MS  begins  with  one  of  expostulation,  supposed  (says  a notice 
prefixed  to  the  MS.)  to  have  arisen  from  a dream,  in  which  Omar’s  mother 
asked  about  his  future  fate.  It  may  be  rendered  thus  : 

“ 0 Thou  who  burn’st  in  Heart  for  those  who  burn 
In  Hell,  whose  fires  thyself  should  feed  in  turn ; 

How  long  be  crying,  ‘ Mercy  on  them,  God ! ’ 

Why,  who  art  Thou  to  teach,  and  He  to  learn  ? " ^ 

This  is  quoted  by  Dr.  Sprenger  as  the  first  tetrastich  of  the  MS.  in  the  library  of 
the  Kings  of  Oudh  (S.,  p.  464),  and  may  be  literally  rendered  : 

“ O drunken  student  deserving  to  be  burnt, 

Woe  ! that  the  fire  of  Hell  shall  blaze  from  you. 

How  long  will  you  keep  saying,  ‘ Have  mercy  upon  Omar  ’ ? 

What  claim  have  you  to  be  a teacher  of  mercy  to  God  ? " 

It  also  figures  as  B.  ii.  537,  L.  769,  B 755,  N.  459,  W.  488. 

1.  Note  the  error  of  the  scribe,  zd'atat’^  ior  td'atai.^  There  are  several  such 
errors  in  the  MS.,  but,  excepting  where  they  obscure  the  meaning,  I do  not  think 
it  worth  while  to  call  attention  to  them 

2.  The  phrase  ga^ihar  suftan^  — ” to  thread  pearls,"  and  is  used  in  Persian  to 
mean  "to  write  verses,"  or  to  tell  a story  Cf.  M.,  1.  378:  "Behold  the 
pearls  of  the  sword  of  my  tongue ; every  pearl  that  falls  from  my  mouth  on  thy 
path  comes  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart. Compare  Hafiz’s;  "When  thou 
composest  verses,  thou  seemest  to  make  a string  of  pearls  : come,  sing  them 
sweetly." 

3.  N.’s  text  reads,  " And  if  I have  never  swept  the  dust  of  your  path  with 
my  heart."  In  this  line  we  have  an  echo  of  the  expression  in  F.  v.,  81,  "the 
Sin  wherewith  the  Face  of  Man  is  blacken’d,"  which  he  took  from  M.,  11.  225-227. 
Vids  post,  q.  109. 

4.  The  other  texts  read,  " I am  not  hopeless  of  mercy  at  your  tribunal."  ® 

5.  C.,  B.  ii.,  L.,  N.,  and  W.  begin  zlrd  AH  — because  that. 

6.  In  this  line  Omar  boasts  that  he  has  never  questioned  the  Unity  of 
God.  tawhld  Jterdan^  = to  acknowledge  One  God.  Cf.  M.,  11.  116,  "Keep 
steadfast  in  unity,  and  keep  away  from  duality,"  1®  and  3210,  and  chap.  xlii. ; 
" The  valley  of  the  Tawhid." 

[Notes  to  page  119  continued  on  pcLge  120.) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


119 


I 


^ t.r  ^.y.iQ  LL  j-  !s 
J>1  diJb  ^1  b 


f' 


jb  tioL- j)j_i^  jj  i) 


I. 

If  I have  never  threaded  the  pearl ^ of  Thy  service, ^ 
and  if  I have  never  wiped  the  dust  of  sin  from  my  face;® 
nevertheless,  I j|m  not  hopeless  of  Thy  mercy,^ 
for  the  reason  that®  I have  never  said  that  One  was  Two.® 
I 2, 

If  I talk  of  th|  mystery  with  Thee  in  a tavern, 
it  is  better  thai  if  I make  my  devotions®  before  the  Mihrab^ 
without  (fhee 


10 — 2 


120 


Notes 


2. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  272,  P,  7,  B.  ii.  294,  L.  427,  S.  P.  221,  B.  423,  N.  222, 
W.  262.  It  is  one  of  those  that  FitzGerald  reproduced  almost  faithfully  (F.  i , 
No  56;  F.  V.,  No  77),  and  scarcely  altered  in  his  own  four  editions 
And  this  I know  whether  the  one  True  Light 
Kindle  to  Love,  or  Wrath  consume  me  quite, 

One  Flash  of  it  within  the  Tavern  caught 
Better  than  in  the  Temple  lost  outiight. 

1 The  Mihvah  is  the  spot  in  a mosque  giving  the  exact  direction  of  Mecca, 
towards  which  all  Muslims  turn  in  prayer. 

2 The  nemd^  are  the  prayers  prescribed  by  Muhammadan  law  to  be 

repeated  five  times  a day,  the  paiij  wakt-i -nmdz^  (vid^  post,  99).  They  are 

respectively  the  nemdz-i-hdmdad'^^  ~ morning  prayers  said  before  dawn;  the 
nemdz-i-pTshhi'^'^  = midday  prayers;  the  nevidz-i-dtgar'^^  = afternoon  prayers; 
the  dr- w/i  dwi  = prayers  immediately  after  sunset;  and  \nemdz-i-kJmf~ 

= prayers  before  bed.  L.  reads  the  line,  “Since  then  I do  not  make  a 

pretence  of  prayer  before  the  Mihrab.” 

(1) 

^ ji  ^ v//  t/ 

y bi3^ 

ji  J04  -dUs.  (^)  Ua 

^y  (®)  ^ >j0  (")  ^ ^ (<5) 

jL4i  j)Ui  gju 

jy  (10)  ;UJ  (10)  jUi  (1^)  (•U,  (13) 

laiVto.  u^y*  } ^ ^ 

;1  jib  HT*  (^’’’) 

1*12001^*51  ^O 

^ jO  (18) 


3.  Cf.  the  appellation  of  Muhammad,  “firstand  last  of  prophets.”!  Cf.  M., 

1.  176  “Oh  God!  who  but  Thou  is  infinite^  Who  is  without  beginning  or 
ending  ? ' ' ^ \ 

4.  Vide  note  5,  q.  122. 

3 \ 

I do  not  find  this  quatrain  in  any  other  text.  L.  2'(B.  ii  13,  S.  P.  12, 
B.  2,  N.  12,  W.  ii)  begins  like  it,  but  is  really  quite  different. 1 

I.  Literally,  “Do  not  give  from  (your)  hand  ” 1 

4-  1 

This  quatrain  is  W.  15,  and  is  the  first  of  those  in  de  T.  but  I do  not  find  it 
in  C.,  B.  ii.,  P , L.,  or  N.  ^ 

I Literally,  " Upon  the  fire  of  your  own  anger  do  not  cause  anyone  to  sit.” 

» ' 

y euu-j  (1) 

“'-‘-y  y ^ ^ v^y  uj-s— y ^ (s) 


Wanscript  and  Translation 


121 


y <u* 

r 

\jp  I y,**.*^ 

i-J  1^'^  t»i  ^\ 

c£>s3lj)  ^ 

li^  fil  (Jw«  <sla^  <-^J 

r 

0 Uu.;./*  ^jiuJ  ^4,iuc>  T 

O Thou,  the  first  and  last  of  all  created  beings!^ 
burn  me  an  Thou  wilt,  or  cherish  me  an  Thou  wilt.^ 

3- 

So  far  as  in  thee  lies,  reproach  not  drunkards, 

lay  thou  aside  pretence  and  imposture; 

if,  henceforth,  thou  desirest  rest  from  this  life  of  thine, 

do  not  for  a moment  shun^  humble  folk. 

4- 

So  far  as  in  thee  lies,  cause  no  pain  to  anyone, 
nor  cause  anyone  to  suffer  from  thy  wrath ; ^ 


122 


Notes 


2 There  is  a parallel  passage  in  M.,  1.  3195  : " If  tbu  art  wounded,  tell  no 
one  of  it,  add  wound  to  wound  and  du  not  complain."  ® 

5 

This  quatrain  is  C.  7,  P.  219,  B ii.  8,  L.  5,  S.  P.  SB.  4,  N.  8,  W.  7,  E.  C. 
5,  and  is  no  doubt  the  source  of  FitzGerald’s  quatrain  (F.  . 74)  ; 

“ Ah  I Moon  of  my  Delight,  who  know’stno  wane 
The  Moon  of  Heav’n  is  rising  once  agan  : 

How  oft  hereafter  rising  shall  she  loo. 

Through  this  same  Garden  after  me — in  vain." 

The  quatrain  is  altered,  but  hardly,  I think,  improvedin  F.v.  C/.  Puvgatorio, 
xii.  84  : " Pensa  che  questo  di  mai  non  raggiorna." 

1.  C.,  B.  ii.,  P.,  N.,  and  W.  read  " becomes  surety  hr."  ^ 

2.  C.,  B.  ii.,  N , and  W,  read  “this  heart  full  of  melincholy  (or  passion)."  ® 
L.  reads  “ passionate  " heart 

3.  Here  we  have  three  meanings  of  the  word  mdh.^  The  moon  (of  heaven), 
a beautiful  mistress,  and  a month.  Cf,  M.,  1.  74 : “ The  moon  wanes  for  love 
of  thee  ; every  month  she  swoons  in  her  stupefaction."  5 

4.  N.  reads  bigardad  ^ “ (many  moons)  shall  revdve,"  etc.  C.  reads 

hxtdhad  ki^  = (many  a moon)  shall  shine  that  (shall  rot,  etc.)."  W.  reads 
bttiihadu  =“  shall  shine  and,'"  etc.  This  is  given  as  a good  specimen  of  the  kind 
of  verbal  variations  to  be  found  between  the  various  texts  aid  MSS.  In  future  I 
do  not  propose  to  set  out  variations  when  so  minute  as  this. 

6 

This  quatrain  is  C 6,  P.  316,  B.  ii.  12,  L.  22.  S.  P.  ii,B.  20,  N.  ii,  W.  10. 

I.  C.,  B,  ii.,  P,,  and  W.  read  6cAm5=best. 


(4)  fiU  (3) 


^1  (2)  jyi.  ^ (1) 


0>*  ^ ^ 

j\  jJt 


o>*  r'^  y / (°) 

j\  fiL* 


Transcript  and  Translation 


123 


— iff' if 

f , 

J 

1 . * 

1/  /• 

sL*  ^1  jyA  \j^jp  <^5^ 

\j\ — - <^LJ  ^ 

'•^  ‘:!r  W:/i — r 

1 

•0 

uXsjlj-c.  pAS"  <J^ 

at-?  &S 

3 


if  thou  hast  a desire  for  eternal  peace, 
fret  thyself  always  and  harass  no  one.^ 

5* 

Since  no  one  will  guarantee  thee^  a to-morrow, 
make  thou  happy  now  this  love-sick  heart 
drink  wine  in  the  moonlight,  O Moon,  for  the  moon  ^ 
shall  seek  us  long^  and  shall  not  find  us. 


6. 

The  Qur’an,  which  men  call  the  Supreme  ^ Word, 
they  read  at  intervals  but  not  continually, 


124 


Notes 


2.  khatt  may  mean  either  a measuring  mark  or  a written  line ; so,  khatt-t- 
piaUh'^  may  mean  either  the  lines  engraved  upon  the  inside  of  a goblet  to  measure 
the  draughts,  or  the  edge  or  rim  of  the  goblet  itself.  P.  reads  "on  the  rim  of 
the  cup  ” 

3.  So,  dyet'^  means  either  a mark  or  sign,  or  a verse  of  the  Qur’an.  The 
whole  line  is  an  elaborate  play  upon  these  words 

4.  C.  and  W,,  riishanl  hast^  = "(a  text)  is  clear  or  luminous.”  N.  reads 
rawishl  = " there  is  a precept  or  (divine)  law.” 

5.  The  word  niudmn  having  also  the  meaning  "wine,”  this  line  might  be 
rendered,  "Which  in  all  places  they  read  as  'wine.'”  This  form  of  pun  is 
called  Ihdm.  Verses  in  praise  of  wine  were,  and  are,  frequently  engraved  round 
wine-goblets  in  Persia.  Allusion  is  made  by  Edward  FitzGerald  to  Jamshy  d’ s seven- 
ringed  cup.  The  seven  lines  alluded  to  were  called  respectively  the  hhatt-i-jaur,^ 
□r  mark  of  oppression ; the  hhatUi-Baghddd,^  or  mark  of  plenty ; the  khatt-i- 
basyah,"^  or  mark  of  all  wisdom;  the  khatt-i-siyahP  or  black  mark  ; the  khatt-i-dshk,"* 
or  mark  of  tears ; the  khatUi-kusagar}^  or  potter’s  mark ; and  the  khatt-i- 
farudtnahp-  or  lowest  mark. 

7- 

This  quatrain  is  C 17,  P.  241,  B ii.  17,  S.  P.  19,  B.  28,  N.  19,  W 22,  in  all 
of  which  lines  2 and  3 are  transposed.  It  is  also  L.  30,  which  is  a good  deal  varied. 

1.  C.,  B-  ii.,  L.,  N.,  and  W.  read  = singers.  P.  reads  " ma'shiik  ” 

= lovers. 

2.  C.,  P.,  B.  ii.,  L,  N,  and  W,  read  hi  kmj-i-khayab'^^ =ihis  desolate 
corner,  i.e.  a tavern,  which  in  Persia  is  generally  to  be  found  in  the  waste 
outskirts  of  a town.  Cf.  M , 11  979-983  : " I am  weak  ; I was  born  among  ruins 
and  I am  happy  there ; but  not  in  drinking  wine.  . . . He  who  would  live  in 
peace  must  retire,  like  a drunkard  among  ruins. 

3.  P.,  N.,  and  W.  read  "in  pawn  for  wine,”  meaning  that  the  speaker  had 
renounced  his  future  hopes  for  the  forbidden  pleasures  of  this  world.  L.  reads 
this,  " Souls  and  hearts  and  faith  and  intellects  in  pawn  for  wine  ” as  the  second 
line.  The  third  and  fourth  lines  in  L.  are  entirely  different  to  the  other  texts. 
Compare  Hafiz  • " Virtuous  Sufi,  he  who,  like  me,  pawns  his  garments  at  the 
tavern  to  pay  his  score,  will  never  be  an  inhabitant  of  Paradise 

8. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  102.  P.  70,  B ii.  32,  L.  63,  S.  P.  75,  B 62,  N.  75,  W.  77. 

I.  dhli-zmdnah  means  probably  "people  of  this  time.” 

(^)  (^)  ^^1  (^)  (^) 

(17)  0/  jt  (16)  J J 

^ j 

0-*  isi  tr*  ur*  C®) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


125 


T 

I^IlX^  Ic^  iU.i5 
V 

^ j Lo 

c--!iI»3s£I>  ^ 

JjLi  jJ.  JJj 

<-^Tj  J^Tj)  J J 
A 

c-n-v^yo  JJ^  )\  <^>.«ir<5  iJjUj)  Ij 

6w^  on  the  lines^  upon  the  goblet  a text®  is  engraved^ 
which  they  read  at  all  times  and  in  all  places.® 


4 


7* 

Here  are  we;  and  so  is  the  wine,  and  the  drinking  bench 
and  the  ruined  furnace^; 

careless  of  hopes  of  mercy,  and  of  fears  of  punishment  ; 
our  souls,  and  our  hearts,  and  our  goblets,  and  our  garments 
full  of  the  lees  of  wine,® 

independent  of  earth  and  air,  and  fire  and  water. 

8. 

In  this  life  it  is  best  that  thou  shouldst  make  but  few  friends ; 
distant  intercourse  with  one’s  fellow  men  ^ is  good ; 


126 


Notes 


2.  C.  uses  different  phraseology  to  express  the  same  meaning.* 

3.  Literally,  " When  thou  openest  the  eye  of  wisdom,"  etc. 


9- 

This  quatrain  is  C.  4S.  P.  108,  B.  ii.  28,  L.  81,  S.  P.  28,  B.  77,  N.  28,  W.  32, 

E.  C.  5,  and  may  be  said  to  have  inspired  FitzGerald’s  quatrain  (F  i.  35,  F.  ii.  39, 

F.  V.  36)  ; 

I think  the  vessel  that  with  fugitive 
Articulation  answer’d,  once  did  live, 

And  drink  ; and  ah!  the  passive  lip  I kiss’d, 

How  many  kisses  might  it  take — and  give! 

C.  426,  ending  in  biideh,  is  identical,  save  for  line  2,  which  reads  ; ”and  was  lip  to 
lip  with  a sweet  sweetheart." 

1.  The  other  texts  all  read  "and  was  enslaved  by  the  curly  head  of  a 
sweetheart."  1 

2.  Other  texts  read  bar  giyd."^ 


10. 

This  quatrain  is  P.  193,  B.  ii.  44,  L.  216,  B.  213,  and  W.  117,  but  I do 
not  find  it  in  C.,  S.  P.,  or  N. 


^ (’) 


-jO  **  4^  \Ji  6^  ^3^ 


JJU 


Transcript  and  Translation 


127 


cT*  oi' 

tr  f 1-^  ^ ik  !U 

^ ca^-^vi 


\. 


J>J'^ 


5 


that  person  upon  whom  thou  leanest  entirely,'^ 
when  thou  examinest  him  closely,®  he  is  thine  enemy. 


9- 

This  jug  was  once  a plaintive  lover  as  I am, 

and  was  in  pursuit  of  one  of  comely  face;^ 

this  handle  that  thou  seest  upon  its  neck 

is  an  arm  that  once  lay  around  the  neck®  of  a friend. 


10, 

Ah,  woe  to  that  heart  in  which  there  is  no  passion, 
which  is  not  spell-bound  by  the  love  of  a heart-cheerer  ! 


128 


Notes 


I.  B.  ii.  and  L read  " without  wine.” 


This  quatrain  is  C.  30,  B.  ii  26,  L.  133,  S.P  24,  B 130,  N.  24,  W 28,  and 

in  it  we  find  the  sentiment  of  Fitzgerald’s  quatrain  (F.  v.  8)  that  made  its  first 

appearance  in  F ii.,  and  was  never  altered.  The  more  direct  inspiration  of 
that  quatrain  came,  no  doubt,  from  the  47th  quatrain  of  this  MS.  [q  v.  post). 

1.  C.,  B ii  , L.,  N.,  and  W.  read  nawhet,'^  which  conveys  rather  the  idea 
of  a passing  period  or  crisis,  than  that  of  a lengthy  season. 

2.  C , B ii  , L , N.,  and  W.  read  " I drink,”  for  '*  I desire.” 

3.  B ii  , L , N,,  and  W.  read  kamrdniye,^  a synonym.  C.  reads  for  this 

line,  “ I make  a wine- drinking,  for  that  is  my  life  ” ; ^ but  I think  this  must  be  an 
error  of  the  scribe  in  my  copy,  his  eye  having  wandered  to  the  fourth  line. 

4 C , B.  ii.,  N.,  and  W.  all  read  “Do  not  reproach  it,"  ^ i.c.,  the  wine, 
not  me. 

5.  L.  reads  ” It  is  pleasant,  because  it  is  bitter  ” ^ Vide  post,  note  to  q.  Sg. 

6 The  word  "acrid”  is  not  quite  right  Binning  (vide  p.  xxv.,  note  2) 
observes  very  appositely  (vol.  ii.,  p 331,  note):  "The  word  mei-khoosh^  ex- 
presses a combination  of  sweet  and  acid  flavour,  common  to  the  juice  of  many 
fruits  and  different  wines,  etc.  It  is  singular  that  we  have  no  English  word  to 
express  this ; for  I suppose  a mongrel  term  like  ' dulco-acid ' can  hardly  be 
called  an  English  word.” 


This  quatrain  is  C gi,  P.  124,  B.  ii.  37,  L.  41,  S.  P.  26,  B.  38,  N.  26, 
and  W.  30.  There  is  a strong  suggestion  of  F.  V.  25  (F.  i.  24)  in  it. 

I.  dast  = literall3%  " arriving  of  the  hand  at,”  i c.,  power. 


^ ^ (^)  (3)  (2)  uL-y  (1) 

Ji— ftSUIj  (®)  SoU  ^ (J)  (3)  (S) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


I2g 


“■W  'y  j>A? 


u 


I 

fcj*  ^1*^ 

VJ  <•*  L— <5L.^^T^1  ^**1  ^in-i-ifT-^i  ? 


»vjj  j ii^^  <ig  'J  ^ 


6 


the  day  that  thou  spendest  without  love/ 

there  is  nq  day  more  useless  to  thee  than  that  day. 


II. 

To-day  being  the  season^  of  my  youth, 

I desire^  wine,  for  thence  comes  my  happiness;® 
reproach  me  not, ^ even  though  acrid®  it  is  pleasant;® 
it  is  acrid  in  that  it  represents  my  life. 


12. 

Thou  hast  no  power  ^ to-day  over  the  morrow, 

and  anxiety  about  the  morrow  brings  thee  only  melancholy ; 


130 


Notes 


2 1 = literally,  "love-sick."  In  C.  the  line  ends  "for  your  heart 

cannot  persevere."  ^ 

3.  C.,  B.  ii.,  N.,  and  W.  all  read  *'hak(l”^  for  this,  meaning  "end, 
upshot,  remainder,"  rather  than  as  here,  " value,  beauty." 

13 

This  quatrain  is  P.  194,  W.  116,  de  T.  2,  and  this  and  No  So  {g.  v.  post),  but 
especially  this  one,  give  us  the  original  sources  of  FitzGerald’s  quatrain  (No.  4 in 
all  his  editions) : 

Now  the  New  Year,  reviving  old  Desires, 

The  thoughtful  Soul  to  Solitude  retires, 

Where  the  White  Hand  of  Moses  on  the  Bough 
Puts  out,  and  Jesus  from  the  ground  suspires. 

It  is  one  of  the  quatrains  found  only  in  the  Bodleian  MS.  and  in  P, 

1.  Vids  note  i tu  q.  12.  W.  appends  a note,  " bakhushi  dast  rasl,"  ^ an  aid  to 
Joy,  i.e.,  Spring.  The  line  might  be  rendered,  "Now  that  happiness  is  within 
reach  of  the  world  " 

2.  z&ndah  dehm  means  here  the  heart,  alive  in  the  spiritual  sense  of  the 
mystic  or  initiated,  as  opposed  to  the  pleasure-seekers  of  the  world  indicated 
in  the  first  line.  De  Tassy  (de  T.  2)  translates  it  " le  spiritualiste  " ; F.’s  " thought- 
ful soul"  is  a good  rendering,  W.’s  rendering,  "And  lively  hearts  wend  forth, 
a joyous  band,"  is,  I think,  unfortunate. 

3 The  White  Hand  of  Moses  is  a reference  to  the  sign  of  his  election 
given  to  Moses  on  Mount  Sinai  (Exodus  iv.  6) : " And  he  put  his  hand  into  his 
bosom,  and  when  he  took  it  out,  behold,  his  hand  was  leprous,  whiU  as  snow."  We 
find  references  to  this  also  in  the  Qur’an,  in  ch  vii  205,  and  again  in  ch.  xxvi.  32, 
where  the  miracle  is  stated  to  have  been  performed  before  Pharaoh:  "And  he 
drew  forth  his  hand  out  of  his  bosom,  and  behold,  it  appeared  white  unto  the 
spectators."  The  learned  commentator  A1  Beidawi  says  that  Moses  was  a very 
swarthy  man,  and  that  " his  hand  became  bright  like  the  sun."  Cf.  M,  1.  453, 
a reference  to  this  same  miracle. 

4.  The  revivifying  properties  of  the  breath  of  Jesus  are  alluded  to  alike  in 
Christian  and  Muhammadan  traditions.  In  the  Qur’an,  ch.  iii.,  we  find:  " I will 
make  before  you  of  clay  as  it  were  the  figure  of  a bird  ; then  I will  breathe  thereon 
and  it  shall  become  a bird."  Jellal’ud-din,  commenting  on  this  passage,  refers  to 
Christ's  miracles  of  the  raising  of  Lazarus,  the  widow's  son,  and  the  daughter  of 
the  ruler  of  the  synagogue.  We  find  reference  hereto  also  in  the  43rd  quatrain  of 
Whinfield’s  text : "Since  Isa  breathed  new  life  into  my  soul."  There  is  a beautiful 
reference  to  this  life-giving  breath  in  the  Masibat  namah  of  Ferid-ud-din  Attar. 
Cf.  also  M.,  1 451 : " If  someone  was  resuscitated  by  the  breath  of  Jesus." 

14- 

This  quatrain  is  P.  65,  B.  ii  135,  L.  64,  B.  61,  W.  115,  and  is  found 
only  in  the  Bodleian  MS.  and  the  Lucknow  lithographed  edition  by  W.  The 
objective  an-m  that  commences  the  first  line  makes  the  meaning  of  the  Bodleian 
quatrain  almost  hopelessly  obscure,  or,  rather,  makes  literal  translation  impossible, 
and  the  il-m®  which  begins  the  ruba’i  in  P.  does  not  help  us.  W.  has  grasped 
the  meaning,  but  his  charming  lines  do  not  exactly  represent  the  Persian. 
B.  ii.  reads  gilyd,^  "as  one  might  say,"  "as  it  were,"  which  makes  sense  and  has 
the  authority  of  age. 

1.  L reads  "Torment  grows  not  on  every  shoot  of  (the  Tree  of) 
Knowledge."^ 

2.  B.  ii.,  L.  and  the  Paris  MS.  read  " Because  in  this  path  no  one  is 
perfect."'^ 

(^)  ^ (^)  J Cijj  ^ (2)  (1) 

ji  (^)  jl  (^) 

0 b’  (®)  sS  \ji)  (7) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


131 


is  caJi3  jl  1*1^  jJI  ^Lo 


\r 


^m£>Aus>v«jw^^)^  LT*  s -v^  ij  Ijil^  A? 

l_ya^  J- 


CS^ 


^ 


m ■>,■>» j_l  S a-I  JL_^_J  j_J  ilS^ 


waste  not  thou  this  moment  if  thy  heart  be  not  mad/ 
for  the  value^  of  the  remainder  of  this  life  is  not  manifest. 


13- 

Now  that  there  is  a possibility  of  happiness^  for  the  world, 
every  living  heart  ^ has  yearnings  towards  the  desert, 
upon  every  bough  is  the  appearance  of  Moses’  hand,® 
in  every  breeze  is  the  exhalation  of  Jesus’  breath.'^ 

14. 

For  him  for  whom  the  fruit  ot  the  branch  of  truth  has  not  grown/ 
the  reason  is  that  he  is  not  firm  in  the  Road/ 


132 


Notes 


3.  The  precise  meaning  of  this  line  in  this  place  is  obscure.  I take  it  to 
mean  that  men  shake  the  loose  bough  that  bears  the  fruit  of  knowledge  in  vain. 
L.  reads;  “ Everyone  has  struck  the  loose  bough  with  impotent  hand  The 
variant  in  the  Paris  MS.  takes  us  no  further. 

4 Meaning,  life  begins  anew  each  day,  and  the  Last  Day  will  be  identical 
with  the  Day  of  Creation. 


15- 

This  quatrain  is  one  of  the  few  that  seem  to  be  linked  with  a preceding  or 
subsequent  one.  This  again  only  occurs  in  the  Paris,  Bankipur  and  Bodleian 
MSS  and  the  Lucknow  edition;  it  is  P 114,  B ii  69,  L 59,  and  B.  56,  and  is 
reproduced  as  W.  114.  It  formed  the  original  of  F.  v 66,  which  did  not  make 
its  appearance  until  F.  ii , in  which  it  is  No.  71,  the  two  last  lines  differing 
somewhat 

I sent  my  Soul  through  the  Invisible, 

Some  letter  of  that  After-life  to  spell ; 

And  by  and  by  my  Soul  returned  to  me, 

And  answered,  “ I Myself  am  Heav’n  and  Hell." 

Here  we  have  an  echo  of  FitzGerald’s  study  of  M.  Cf  1.  303  (Terminal  Essay, 
p.  310).  Vids  in  his  own  translation  of  that  poem  (L.  R,,  vol.  ii.,  p.  451)  ; 

I was  the  Sin  that  from  Myself  rebell'd  ; 

I the  Remorse  that  tow’rd  Myself  compell'd 

* * * * 

Sin  and  Contrition — Retribution  owed, 

And  cancell'd — Pilgrim,  Pilgrimage,  and  Road, 

Was  but  Myself  toward  Myself  and  Your 
Arrival  but  Myself  at  my  own  Door. 

r.  The  Lauh  u Kalam  are  the  Tablet  and  Pen  wherewith  divine  decrees  of 
what  should  be  from  all  time  were  written.  Compare  Qur’an,  ch.  Ixviii.  i : 
"By  the  Pen  and  what  they  write,  oh!  Muhammad,  thou  art  not  distracted." 
Cf.  M , 1.  262 : *'  The  Tablet  of  divine  decrees,  and  the  Kalam  appeared 
manifest."  ^ 

16. 

This  quatrain  is  not  found  elsewhere  than  in  the  Bodleian  MS.,  and  it  is 
W.  113,  though  W.’s  translation  of  the  first  two  lines  is  more  than  free.  We 
find  an  echo  of  it  in  F.  v.  41,  which  made  its  appearance  in  its  original  form 
as  F.  ii.  55  : 

Perplext  no  more  with  Human  or  Divine, 

To-morrow’s  tangle  to  the  winds  resign. 

And  lose  your  fingers  in  the  tresses  of 
The  Cypress-slender  Minister  of  Wine. 

r.  ruziyi  niaoi  ast : literally,  "is  my  sustenance,  or  daily  bread." 


) ts-/  ) (“) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


133 


j-aUia  ^ 


C 

fcs-~-Qj  jf)j  ^j-L  Lc.  j-Hr^  j j^j-i 

t)J^  J c^ 

i^\y  \j^  uz^iS 

r j> 

^ C\)^  J ci-w*~^_5  (*— c^ 


11 


ui.-.~~^e:*<i  (^Us  <);^  ajb  aJjj  y^a.  ji 


Every  one  has  feebly  shaken  with  his  hand  the  bough  oj 
truth.^ 

Know  that  to-day  is  like  yesterday,  and  that  to-morrow  is  like 
the  First  Day  of  Creation.'*^ 

15. 

Already  on  the  Day  of  Creation  beyond  the  heavens  my  soul 
searched  for  the  Tablet  and  Pen’-  and  for  heaven  and  hell; 
at  last  the  Teacher  said  to  me  with  His  enlightened  judgment, 
Tablet  and  Pen,  and  heaven  and  hell,  are  within  thyself.” 

16. 

Arise  and  give  me  wine— what  time  is  this  for  words  ? 
for  to-night  thy  little  mouth  fills  all  my  needs;’ 


• , A ••  ••  t ^ A 

^ • ' 


. .*  A 


A , 


JUIj 


> U>/>v 


II 


134 


Notes 


2.  W reads  iidwUt}  i e , "turn,  condition,  period  ’ ; but  as  he  only  collates 
the  Bodleian  MS  , one  may  assume  that  he  was  deceived  by  a clerical  error  in 
his  copy 


17- 

This  quatrain  is  C.  84,  P.  126,  B ii.  59,  L.  193,  B.  190,  and  W.  112, 
and  is  one  of  those  (No.  6)  translated  by  E.  C.  Vide  post,  note  to  q.  20.  There 
is  an  echo  in  it  of  F.  v.  21. 

1.  nislm-i-noruz : literally,  "the  breath  of  the  spring.”  nd-vnz  is  the 
Persian  New  Year's  Day  (21st  March),  on  which  the  Sun  enters  Aries  and  begins 
the  Vernal  Equinox  of  the  old  Solar  year,  as  compared  with  the  variable  Lunar 
year,  which  dates  from  the  Hejra.  It  is  commemorated  to  this  day  by  a festival, 
said  to  have  been  instituted  by  Jamshyd,  whose  calendar  Omar  Khayyam  rectified, 
and  to  which  he  refers  in  F v.  57. 

2.  dil-fuYuz:  literally,  "heart  enlightening,”  vide  q lo,  1 2. 

3.  L.  reads  " upon  the  lawn.”  ^ 


18. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  113,  P.  201,  B.  ii.  75,  L.  214,  B.  21 1,  and  W.  iii.  Cf. 
Inferno,  ix.  97  : " Che  giova  nelle  fata  dar  di  cozzo  ? ” 

1.  The  meaning  of  this  is  " How  long  shall  I perform  empty  ceremonies  ? ” 
The  futility  of  the  operation  is  referred  to  in  F.  v.  47,  q.  v.  suh  q.  51.  It  is  a reference 
to  the  game  of  " Ducks  and  Drakes,”  which  was  known  to  the  ancient  Egyptians, 
and  also  to  the  Greeks  under  the  name  eTTocTTpa/cicr^bs  : it  was  played  with  oyster- 
shells.  The  curious  are  referred  to  the  record  of  Minutius  Felix  (a.d.  207),  who 
describes  the  game  in  his  preface. 

2.  kmisht  — a,  fire-temple,  or  Jewish  synagogue.  Any  place  of  worship, 
idolatrous  from  the  Muhammadan  point  of  view. 

3.  L reads  "I  am  not  hopeless  like  the,”  etc.^ 


“-jy  (1) 


CJS-  J-i  (“) 


Transcript  and  Translatio7i 


135 


ji,  d ‘-SJj  ^ ^ 'ijy 


y- 

■^y-^  ^ yj  J^ 


^ L .^..^.o^-i.j  ir*  »^.-j  ^ ^ l^.n^... 3 


give  me  wine,  rose-coloured  as  thy  cheeks, 

for  this  penitence‘s  of  mine  is  as  full  of  tangles  as  thy  curls. 


17- 

The  spring  bree^je^  blows  sweetly  upon  the  face  of  the  rose, 
in  the  shade  of  the  garden  plot“  a darling's’*  face  is  sweet; 
nothing  thou  canst  say  of  yesterday  that  is  past,  is  sweet, 
be  happy  and  do  not  speak  of  yesterday,  for  to-day  is  sweet 

18. 

How  long  shall  I throw  bricks  upon  the  surface  of  the  sea?^ 

I am  disgusted  with®  the  idol-worshippers  of  the  pagoda.’* 


II — 2 


Notes 


136 


4.  In  L.  and  with  a slight  variation  in  B.  ii.  these  two  lines  read  * 
“ To-night  I am  occupied  with  fair  youths, 

I desire  wine  and  a loved  one — what  are  heaven  and  hell  ? ” 


19.  ^ 

This  quatrain  is  C.  64,  P.  95,  B.  ii.  77,  L.  40,  S.P.  37,  N.  38,  W.  42, 
and  is  the  original  of  Fitzgerald’s  quatrain  (F.  i.  62,  ii.  92,  v.  85) : 

Then  said  a second — “Ne’er  a peevish  boy 
Would  break  the  bowl  from  which  he  drank  in  joy; 

And  He  that  with  his  hand  the  vessel  made 
Will  surely  not  in  after  wrath  destroy." 

r.  C.  is  identical  with  this,  but  B.  ii , N.,  and  W.  read  huja  ravH  ddriid'^  = 
“Why  should  he  permit,"  etc. 

2.  B.  ii.  and  N.  read  sdk  2 = “ legs  " iov pai,  and  L.  reads  dast  — “ hands." 

3.  N.  and  W.  read  wAe/ il  2=  and  palms  and  hands.’’  C.  and  B ii.  read 
sar  =“ head  " for  Jt^f,  which  is  neater  than  this,  which  can  only  be  rendered  “from 
(his)  finger  tips."  Sir  William  Jones,  in  his  delightful  “ Grammar"  (London,  1771 
and  iSog,  p.  91),  justly  observes  ; “The  noun  sar  has  a number  of  different  senses, 
and  is  therefore  the  most  difficult  word  in  the  Persian  language;  it  signifies  the> 
head,  tlu  to^,  thej>oi?zt,  the  principal  thing,  the  air,  desire,  love,  will,  intentiozv,  etc.  ; and 
sometimes  its  meaning  is  so  vague  that  it  seems  a mere  expletive." 

4.  C.  reads  az  berai^  = “ on  what  account,"  etc. 

5.  P.  and  L.  use  the  synonym  djzdt.^  I am  not  sure  that  “ the  ingredients 
of  a drink  that  he  has  compounded  " would  not  be  a better  rendering  of  this  line. 


20. 

The  references  to  this  quatrain  are  somewhat  confusing ; compare  C.  23  and 
55,  B,  ii.  24  and  88,  L.  84,  N 22  and  42,  S.  P.  22,  B.  80  ; the  nearest  to  it,  as  a 
whole,  is  P 162  : 

Line  i is  the  same  as  L.  84,  line  i,  and  W.  26,  line  2.  This  line  is  not  at  all  in 
C.  or  N. 

Line  2 is  the  same  as  C.  23,  line  i (var.) ; L.  84,  line  2 (var.) ; N,  22,  line  i 
(var  ) ; and  W.  26,  line  i (var.). 

Line  3 is  the  same  as  in  C.  23,  L.  84,  N.  22  (var.),  and  identical  with  N.  42. 

Line  4 is  the  same  in  all  the  texts,  and  is  repeated  in  N.  42. 

It  contains  the  germ  of  F.  v.  28-9 : “I  came  like  water,  and  like  wind  I go," 
etc. ; and  this  quatrain  and  No.  17  doubtless  suggested  F.  i.  37,  which  he  eliminated 
in  its  complete  form  from  all  subsequent  editions : 

Ah  I fill  the  Cup  : what  boots  it  to  repeat 
How  Time  is  slipping  underneath  our  Feet ; 

Unborn  To-morrow,  and  dead  Yesterday, 

Why  fret  about  them  if  To-day  be  sweet  1 

Compare  also  the  notes  to  q.  121. 

1.  juybdr  means  a great  river  formed  of  many  small  ones,  or  a place 
abounding  in  streams,  as  opposed  to  juy,^  a small  stream. 

2.  This  line  in  C.,  B.  ii.,  S.  P.,  N.,  and  W.  reads;  “These  two  or  three 
days  of  the  period  of  my  existence  pass  by."'^ 

3.  This  line  in  C.,  B.  ii.,  S.  P.,  and  N,  reads;  “They  pass  as  passes  the 
wind  in  the  desert." 

(^)  ^ (3)  (2)  (1) 

O tjyy  iU*  Lib  ^J3)  (6) 

(®)  (^) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


137 


ut^S  |»L^ 

UL^'l^j  J»«T  ^ 

\3 

Jkl  ^ •-rr^'t^y 

*■"  c"  ■^■■*■^1^^^  d^ 

V. 

«^T 

<ji.>j^JjCi  |•_^*£>  <-^y  jl 

10 

Khayyam ! who  can  say  that  he  will  be  a denizen  of  hell, 
who  ever  went  to  hell,  and  who  ever  came  from  heaven?* 

ig. 

The  elements  ® of  a cup  which  he  has  put  together, 
their  breaking  up  a drinker  cannot  approve,* 
all  these  heads  and  delicate  feet® — with  his  finger-tips,® 
for  love  of  whom  did  he  make  them?— for  hate  of  whom*  did 
he  break  them  ? 

20. 

Like  water  in  a great  river*  and  like  wind  in  the  desert,’ 
another  day  passes  out  of  the  period  of  my  existence;’ 


138 


Notes 


4.  This  line  in  C , P.,  B.  ii.,  and  N reads  " So  long  as  I live  I will  not 
grieve  for  two  days,”  etc  ^ 


21. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  49,  B,  ii.  86,  L.  94,  B.  go,  and  W.  no,  without 
variation.  We  hear  its  echo  in  F.  v.  29,  and  it  forms  the  original  of  F.  i. 
and  V.  30  ; ii.  33.  E.  C.  translates  it  also  (Ko.  8) : 

What,  without  asking,  hither  hurried  whence  ? 

And,  without  asking,  whither  hurried  hence  ! 

Oh,  many  a Cup  of  this  forbidden  Wine 
Must  drown  the  memory  of  that  insolence  ! 

Cf  Inferno,  xxiv.  iig  : “ O giustizia  di  Dio,  quant'  e severa  ! ” 

1.  Compare  F 's  "First  Morning  of  Creation.” 

2.  No  doubt,  in  composing  his  two  first  lines,  FitzGerald  had  also  in  his  mind 
C.  235,  which  is  N 117  and  W.  145,  which  may  be  rendered  thus  : 2 

In  the  beginning,  to  my  surprise,  he  brought  me  into  existence  ; 
what  do  I gain  from  life  save  my  amazement  (at  it)  ? 

We  come  to  an  end  of  it,  and  do  not  know  what  was 
the  purpose  of  this  coming,  and  going,  and  being. 


This  quatrain  is  C.  59,  P 205,  B.  ii.  94,  L.  74,  S.  P.  81,  B.  70,  N.  81, 
W.  83,  and  FitzGerald  himself  gives  a translation  of  it  in  his  preface  (F.  v., 
p.  8),  an  unrhymed  translation  made  by  Prof,  Cowell,  and  forming  part  of  a 
quotation  from  his  Calcutta  Review  article,  and  therefore  literally  exact.  The 
original  Persian  is  very  clear  and  simple,  and  no  variation  of  Prof.  Cowell’s 
translation  is  necessary  or  desirable. 

I An  allusion  to  his  father's  trade,  tent-making,  from  which  he  took  his 
Takhallus  or  poetic  name,  and  at  the  same  time  to  his  own  philosophical  labours. 


>5- 

^J^ll 


jv  U (1) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


139 


sr  i3  Ij 

.^A*Ju>SS  tS^  jjij  ^ ci-A-vaJw«L)  ^)AP 


n 

|45l3^T 

UL^^Jyl 


j*W^ 

mJ  al^l)  j ^ 


grief  has  never  lingered  in  my  mind— concerning  two  days,* 
the  day  that  has  not  yet  come  and  the  day  that  is  past. 


21. 

Seeing  that  my  coming  was  not  for  me  the  Day  of  Creation,^ 
and  that  my  undesired  departure  hcncc  is  a purpose  fixed  for 
get  up  and  gird  well  thy  loins,  0 nimble  Cup-bearer, 
for  I will  wash  down  the  misery  of  the  world  in  wine. 

22. 

Khayyam,  who  stitched  at  the  tents  ot  wisdom,^ 

fell  into  the  furnace  of  sorrow  and  was  suddenly  burnt ; 


140 


Notes 


2.  C.,  B.  ii , and  W.  read  dalldl-i-ka$d^ — the  broker  of  destiny,”  and 

N.  reads  dalldl-i- =‘' the  broker  in  a hurry,”  as  a pendant  doubtless  to 
mikvdz-i-' ajl  = the  shears  of  Fate  in  line  3.  We  have  in  this  line  an  echo  of  the 
concluding  line  of  F.  v.  93,  " and  sold  my  reputation  for  a song.” 


23- 

This  quatrain  is  C.  96,  P.  204,  B.  ii.  96,  L.  82.  S P.  42,  B.  78,  N.  i^3,  W.  46, 
and  is  the  third  of  de  T.’s  examples.  It  is  one  of  a not  infrequently  recurrent 
class  of  ruba’i  which  inspired  FitzGerald’s  remarkable  quartette  of  quatrains, 
F.  V.  78-81.  Those  quatrains,  however,  were  directly  inspired  by  one  of  the 
finest  passages  in  the  Mantic-ut-tair.  (M.,  11.  215-218  and  218  Us  (error  of  num- 
bering) =220.)  Compare,  also,  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  ch.  v.  20:  "Where 
sin  abounded  grace  did  much  more  abound.”  FitzGerald  had  also  before  him 
another  ruba’i  (C  65),  whose  concluding  lines  closely  resemble  this  quatrain  : 

" If  I do  not  sin,  what  is  Mercy  to  do  (with  itself)  ? 

His  Mercy  is  called  into  existence  by  my  sins.”  ® 

W.  120  is  a variant  of  this  latter  quatrain. 


24. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  75,  P.  21,  B ii.  108,  L.  i8r,  S.  P.  45,  B.  178,  N,  46, 
W.  49,  and  we  find  an  echo  of  it  in  the  first  line  of  F.  v.  63:  "Oh,  threats  of 
Hell  and  Hopes  of  Paradise.”  It  is  also  the  fourth  of  de  T.'s  examples. 

I.  sauma'ah  is  distinctively  a Christian  cell  or  monastery;  madyaseh,  the  school 
attached  to  a mosque;  dair,  a collective  monastery  or  cloister;  and  kinisht,  a Jewish 
synagogue. 


6.^  (^) 


u;  jjo  (1) 


Transcyipt  ami  Translation 


141 


jkoIXjIjj  J-^1 


^ j 


J^.  a^.^j  ^ 

dS'  )_^il 

^ Js^T  cU?  c)'->^ 


Cll  Ji^  d,v^  d 

t,t* iX.xj^J)jLi  ^ 6\X0^y 


12 

the  shears  of  doom  cut  the  tent-rope  of  his  existence, 
and  the  broker  of  hope^  sold  him  for  a mere  song. 


23* 

Khayyam,  why  mourn  thus  for  thy  sins  ? 

from  grieving  thus  what  advantage,  more  or  less,  dost  thou  gain  ? 
Mercy  was  never  for  him  who  sins  not, 
mercy  is  granted  for  sins — why  then  grieve  ? 

24. 

In  cell,  and  college,  and  monastery,  and  synagogue  ^ 
are  those  who  fear  hell  and  those  who  seek  after  heaven  ; 


142 


Notes 


2.  Literally,  "in  the  stomach  of  his  heart.”  C.,  B.  ii.,  P.,  N.,  and  W. 
read  andyun-i-khiid}  ie,  " in  his  own  bowels  (or  heart).”  W.  appends  a note; 
" Meaning  souls  reabsorbed  into  the  Divine  essence  have  no  concern  with  the 
material  heaven  or  hsll.”  I think  the  simplicity  of  the  original  sufficiently 
conveys  the  writer’s  meaning. 


25- 

In  this  precise  form  this  quatrain  is,  as  far  as  my  researches  go,  only  to  be 
found  in  this  MS.,  in  B.  ii.  115,  and  in  L , where  it  is  No,  96,  with  trifling 
verbal  variations,  and  B.  92  ; but  a variant  so  close  in  general  form  and  meaning 
as  to  be  readily  referred  to  as  identical  is  P.  32S,  N.  82,  and  W.  84,  and,  with 
slight  variations  which  bring  it  nearer  to  our  Bodleian  MS,,  C.  67.  This 
quatrain  (C.,  P.,  N.,  and  W.)  may  be  rendered  : 

In  the  season  of  Spring  with  a houri-shaped  idol. 

If  there  be  one  jar  of  wine  on  the  edge  of  the  field, 

However  much,  according  to  doctrine,  this  may  be  bad, 

I am  worse  than  a dog  if  I remember  heaven.^ 

We  have  in  this  quatrain  the  sentiment  of  F.  v.  12,  13  ; but  a closer  parallel 
is  found  to  them  in  qq.  149  and  155  of  this  MS.  (q.  v.  posi). 

I.  "Thenceforth”  is  perhaps  a liberty,  but  in  many  places  in  this  MS.  it 
seems  indicated  as  the  correct  rendering  of  dz  anki,  or  of  dz  dngdh. 

26. 

This  quatrain,  which  hardly  varies  in  the  texts  I am  using  for  reference,  is 
C.  S3.  B.  ii.  no,  L.  192,  S.  P.  85,  B.  189,  N.  85,  and  W.  87.  We  have  here  the 
sentiment  of  the  first  two  lines  of  F.  v.  47  : 

When  you  and  I behind  the  Veil  are  past. 

Oh,  but  the  long  long  while  the  World  shall  last; 

and  the  last  two  lines  of  F.  v.  74,  which  made  its  first  appearance  as  F.  ii.  80 : 

Drink!  for  you  know  not  whence  you  came,  nor  why, 

Drink!  for  you  know  not  why  you  go,  nor  where. 

Vid&  note  to  q.  29. 


^ ^ ^ 
lAi  jh 


(^) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


143 


tj^A^  Sr^^  <1*^^ 

^l3  ^ji  L^]) j]  dJ  LfJLa 

n 

c;i^i^  1j^  j]  <3^ 


13 


he  who  has  knowledge  of  the  secrets  of  God 
sows  none  of  such  seed  in  his  heart  of  hearts.^ 


25- 

If  in  the  season  of  spring  a being,  houri-shaped, 
gives  me  on  the  green  bank  of  a field  a goblet  full  of  wine, 
(though  to  everyone  this  saying  may  seem  uncouth) 
a dog  is  better  than  I am  if  thenceforth^  I pronounce  the  name 
of  heaven. 

26. 

Know  this — that  from  thy  soul  thou  shalt  be  separated, 
thou  shalt  pass  behind  the  curtain  of  the  secrets  of  God. 


144 


Notes 


I The  other  texts  begin,  line  3,  mai  khiiy,"  and  line  4,  " hhUsk  bash  ” 
The  meaning  is  not  affected. 


27. 

This  is  quatrain  C.  79,  P.  228,  B ii.  112.  L.  200,  S P.  47,  B.  197,  N.  48, 
and  W 51,  which  are  identical  as  to  the  first  three  lines,  save  for  unimportant 
synonyms,  such  as  bftda7n  for  shudam  in  the  first  line,  and  kdri^  for  chizi  in  the 
third 


1.  W.  notes  here  Kacr6yv>;T0s  Bavarolo,  Compare  the  opening  lines  of 
Shelley’s  “ Queen  Mab  ” 

How  wonderful  is  Death — 

Death,  and  his  brother  Sleep! 

2.  C , B.  ii.,  L,  N,,  and  W.  all  read  for  umrahat,  be-zlr-i-khdk^  = 
**  beneath  the  earth,”  and  begin  the  line  ‘*mai  khilr,"  as  passim. 


28. 

This,  one  of  the  most  mystic  and  interesting  quatrains  known  to  me,  occurs 
only  in  this  MS.,  and  is  reproduced  as  W.  109.  A remote  echo  of  it  is  to  be  found 
in  F.  V 50 : 

"Yes,  and  a single  Alif  were  the  clue, 

Could  you  but  find  it — to  the  Treasure-house, 

And  peradventure  to  the  Master  too.” 


.iJli  J,;,  (2)  (1) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


145 


^ ^ Lf^y  4^ 


LiiA..a5L^  ^ ^ 

U:.  <<iifixN,  b i b d^ 

u:-si:^  cKjb  d>'S  (J^^ 


1^)  j^\  ^ 


Be  happy — thou  knowest  not  whence  thou  hast  come  : 
drink  wine^ — thou  knowest  not  whither  thou  shalt  go. 


27. 

I fell  asleep,  and  wisdom  said  to  me: — 

Never  from  sleep  has  the  rose  of  happiness  blossomed  for 
anyone ; 

why  do  a thing  that  is  the  mate  of  death  ?^ 

Drink  wine,  for  thou  must  sleep  for  ages.”^ 

28. 

My  heart  said  to  me: — have  a longing  for  inspired  knowledge; 
teach  me  if  thou  art  able.” 


146 


Notes 


I.  Mr.  Whinfield,  instead  of  dividing  the  line  after  " Alif,”  reads:  " I said 
the  A lifk  af at  ^ and  dispenses  with  the  verb  guft  ( = " it  said”),  and  appends  a note  : 
"The  One  (God)  is  enough;  probably  a quotation.  Hafiz  (Ode  416)  uses  the 
same  expression  ' He  who  knows  the  One,  knows  all  ' ” With  all  respect,  I differ, 
for  gw/if  seems  the  necessary  verb  in  the  line,  governed  by  dil  = “the  heart.”  The 
Alif  kafat  is,  however,  a recognised  oriental  idiom,  meaning  “ Alif  sufficeth,” 
; If.,  the  one  necessary  letter,  meaning  “the  One  God,”  referred  to  again  in  the 
fourth  line  as  kes,  literally  “ Some-one  = The  One”  and  “ One  letter,”  z'.f,,  the 
Alif  representing  God,  as  well  as  the  numeral  “one."  The  whole  quatrain  is 
mystical  and  doctrinal. 

29. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  56,  P.  63,  B.  ii.  103,  L.  61,  S.  P.  43,  B,  58,  N 44,  and 
W.  47,  and  we  get  the  echo  of  it  in  F.  v.  32,  34,  and  47  : 

There  was  the  Door  to  which  I found  no  Key  ; 

There  was  the  Veil  through  which  I might  not  see,  etc. 

C/.  M.,  11.  3891-2.  And  again  : 

When  you  and  I behind  the  Veil  are  past,  etc. 

F,  infused  into  this  quatrain  the  sentiment  of  M.,  11,  146-153.  (Terminal  Essay, 
P-  308.) 

1.  Literally,  “ there  is  not  a way  for  anyone." 

2.  ia'hiyah  (or  ta'hiyat),  an  Arabic  word  signifying  “ an  array  set  out,"  as  of 
soldiers  or  furniture,  etc.  For  this  word  C.  has  shu'badeh-yijan^  = “ juggling  about 
of  the  soul.”  It  will  be  observed  that  the  coupling  of  these  words  gives  quite  a 
new  construction  to  the  whole  line. 

3.  C.  and  W.  for  hick  read  tlrah,'^  obliterating  the  double  negative  and  giving 
us  " save  in  the  dark  heart,”  etc.  B.  ii.  and  N.  are  identical  with  this. 

4.  C.  and  B.  ii.  are  identical  with  this;  but  L.,  N.,  and  W.  begin:  a/s7ls  hi 
m fasanahd^  — “Pity  (it  is)  that  these  fables  are  not  short.”  The  line  trans- 
lates literally,  “Drink  wine,  for  such  fables  are  not  short,”  meaning,  “It 
will  take  long  to  expound  the  fable  (or  illusion)  of  human  life.”  The  Paris 
MS.  reads,  “ Hear  thou  that  such  fables,”  etc.  Cf.  M.,  11.  152-3:  “They  have 
harassed  themselves  much,  and  reap  in  the  end  but  feebleness  and  astoundment.  ” ^ 

30. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  108,  P 155,  L.  49,  S.  P.  51,  B.  46.  N.  51,  and  W.  54.  It 
is  B.  ii.  497,  ending  in  and,  in  it  we  find  the  germ  of  more  than  one  of  F.'s 
quatrains  dealing  with  the  Scevet.  The  whole  verse  is  a protest  against  the 
mystery  made  of  holy  things  by  the  self-styled  “ initiates," 

1.  C.,  B.  ii.,  P,,  N.,  and  W.  for  raz  read  sirr.^  Note  in  these  two  lines  the 
words  siYV  and  its  broken  Arabic  plural  asmr,  and  its  synonym  niz,  ydz-i-nihdn 
means  idiomatically  a profound  secret,  such  as  the  place  of  one’s  death,  future 
events,  etc. 

2.  S.  P and  N.  (alone)  begin  the  line  **riiz  az  henieh  bulhuirui,"  ® etc.,  ” the 
secret  must  be  hidden  from  every  nightingale."  P.,  B.  ii , and  L.  begin  “ mz  az 
hemeh  ablahmf  etc.,  a slight  variant  of  this  MS. 

iUjb  ^1  jlj  ^6^  ^ ^5^ 


Transcript  and  Translation 


147 


iJZ^^  ) I ^ i <3^ 


^ 

(i^T  ij)  W* 

jsJ  Ic^  J J ^ lS 

,>w/vvs^  (jj ^ L^  Iwsj  d^  ^ 


ca,^l  J Jj,b  I^b-^  ^L^lj  (UJfc  ^1  J)l_^ 

ini.4..i!ia  I (j  jj  b b.’^'Jj  \y  0 1—^  ^ i 1^ 


I said  the  Alif.  My  heart  said:^ — “Say  no  more. 
If  One  is  in  the  house,  one  letter  is  enough.” 


29. 

No  one  can  pass^  behind  the  curtain  that  veils  the  secret, 
the  mind  of  no  one  is  cognizant  of  what  is  there ; ® 
save  in  the  heart  of  earth  we  have  no®  haven. 

Drink  wine,^  for  to  such  talk  there  is  no  end. 

30. 

The  mystery^  must  be  kept  hidden  from  all  the  ignoble, 
and  the  secrets  must  be  withheld  from  fools.^ 


148 


Notes 


3.  This  line  in  C.,  P , N , and  W.  has  the  same  meaning,  but  is  constructed 
differently.^  B.  ii , L and  N.  for  hejai  read  hejdn-i~viardaman,‘^  giving  us,  " Consider 
how  you  yourself  act  towards  the  souls  of  men."  L , " men  and  souls,"  ii  for 
the  Tziifat. 

4.  chasJm  means  " eyes"  and  "hope"  (vide  post,  q.  80,  note  2).  This  pas- 
sage might  be  rendered,  " Our  regard  (for  them),"  etc.,  sed  qucsre.  Cf.  Dante, 
Cottvivio,  iii.  8. 

31. 

This  quatrain  is  P.  25,  C.  87,  B.  ii.  6q,  L.  195,  5.  P.  31,  N.  31,  and  W.  35. 
Compare  q No  95  (post).  This  quatrain  inspired  F v.  71  : 

The  Moving  Finger  writes ; and  having  writ. 

Moves  on  ; nor  all  your  Piety  nor  Wit 
Shall  lure  it  back  to  cancel  half  a Line, 

Nor  all  your  tears  wash  out  a Word  of  it. 

And  the  same  idea  reappears  in  the  parallel  quatrain  F.  v.  73  : 

With  Earth’s  first  Clay  they  did  the  Last  Man  knead, 

And  there  of  the  Last  Harvest  sow’d  the  seed  : 

And  the  first  Morning  of  Creation  wrote, 

What  the  Last  Dawn  of  Reckoning  shall  read. 

N.  quotes  in  a note  a parallel  passage  from  Anwary  ; — " If  the  affairs  of  this 
world  are  not  governed  by  Fate,  why  do  the  projects  of  men  turn  out  contrariwise 
to  their  desires  ? Yes,  it  is  Fate  that  leads  men  irresistibly  towards  good  and  bad, 
and  that  is  why  their  endeavours  come  always  to  naught."  ^ Compare  Ephesians 
iii.  9:  "The  mystery  which  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  hath  been  hid 
in  God."  Cf.  Paradiso,  xx.  52  : " '1  giudizio  eterno  non  si  trasmuta." 

1.  C.,  B.  ii , L.,  N.,  and  W.  for  zm  pish  read  har  /w/t^=upon  the  Tablet. 
Compare  luh  u halam  in  q.  15. 

2.  C.,  B.  ii.,  L , N.,  and  W.  read  dsudah,^  meaning  the  same. 

3.  P , C,,  B.  ii.,  L.,  N.,  and  W.  read  andar  tahdir^=lu  Destiny. 


32. 

This  quatrain  is  B.  ii.  129,  L.  105,  B.  loi.  I do  not  find  it  in  C.,  N.,  or 
W.,  but  it  is  the  fifth  of  the  examples  given  in  de  T.’s  pamphlet. 

1.  fasl-i-giil,  the  time  of  flowers  (esp  roses)  = the  Spring. 

2.  hts}it  = a.  sown  field  as  opposed  to  a wild  prairie  ; so  F.  in  F.  v.  ii.,  " the 
sown,"  vide  qq  40  and  45  The  lab-i-hsht  is  the  raised  embankment  of  gra.ss  round 
a cultivated  field.  Compare  the  passage  in  Jami’s  Beharistan  (6th  Garden) ; "We 
went  out  one  spring  day  with  a company  of  friends  and  acquaintances  to  enjoy  the 
air  of  the  fields  and  obtain  a view  of  the  desert." 

3.  Literally,  " With  one,  two,  three  people,"  etc 

4 sirisht  means  either  "shaped"  or  "natured.  L.  for  dhl  reads  tdzeh,'^ 
giving  us  " with  a few  yowig  houri-shaped  playmates." 

(^)  lsW  ^ (^) 

« ‘r  (^) 

ui..vai|  ILasi.  &U.r>  6^ 

tp  (7')  ^oji  (0)  (^)  ey  (^) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


149 


^ dS"  j^Ijj 

<.:LA.;^|id  Jjb  dUJfc  ^1 


n 


e)biU  j5u^. 

<»g  b i.Xj^  j)  ^Lk  d^i.^ ^<^3 

JIcVJ  cilw^J  b d^l  ^ J^l  J)J|^ 
ta-wa  5Ji^^  U 


c— JS  j^^oj 

,Ji9^ 


Consider  thine  actions  towards  thy  fdlow  men:’* 
our  hopes ^ must  be  concealed  from  all  mankind. 

31- 

From  the  beginning’^  was  written  what  shall  be ; 
unhaltingly  the  Pen  writes,  and  is  heedless^  of  good  and  bad; 
on  the  First  Day'’  He  appointed  everything  that  must  be — 
our  grief  and  our  efforts  are  vain. 

32. 

In  the  spring,^  on  the  bank  of  the  river  and  on  the  edge 
of  the  field,’* 

with  a few  companions'*  and  a playmate  houri-shaped/ 

« 


••  «” 


'l  V 

I r.  /.  • " ( 

it>\, 


i6 


12 


N otes 


150 


5.  Independent  alike  of  Islam  and  Judaism,  the  two  principal  creeds 
followed  in  Iran 

33 

This  quatrain  is  C.  go,  P.  148,  L.  igg.  S P go,  B.  196,  N.  90,  W.  92,  and 
inspired  F.  v 67  : 

Heav’n  but  the  Vision  of  fulfilled  Desire, 

And  Hell  the  Shadow  from  a Soul  on  fire. 

Cast  on  the  Darkness  into  which  Ourselves, 

So  late  emerged  from,  shall  so  soon  expire. 

He  got  his  verse  mainly,  however,  from  M.,  1.  1866.  (Terminal  Essay,  p.  311.) 

1.  N.and  W.  for  te?i  read  existence — a frequent  interchange  in  the  MSS. 

2.  Jihun  = the  river  Oxus.  Compare  line  399  in  “Prometheus  Bound”; 
Sa.KpvcrLcrraKTOV  aTr  ocrcrajv  pafitvcov  et/3oju,6va  peos  Trapetdv  votlols  erey^a 
Trayats  = ” shedding  from  tender  eyes  a trickling  river  of  tears,  I wet  my  cheeks 
with  fountains  of  rain.” 

3 C.,  P.,  L.,  and  W.  read  chashm}  giving  us  “ my  strained  eyes.” 

4.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  interchange  of  “f”  for  “p"  in  Persian. 
Firdils  - paradise  ; Farsi  = Persian  ; Pm  = fairy ; Farsang  = parasang  (Gr  ),  etc. 

34- 

This  quatrain  is  C.  51,  P.  323,  L.  95,  B.  91,  and  W.  108,  and  contains  the 
original  inspiration  of  F.  i.  12  : 

“How  sweet  is  mortal  sovran' ty  ! ” think  some : 

Others,  “ How  blest  the  Paradise  to  come ! ” 

Ah,  take  the  Cash  in  hand  and  wave  the  Rest, 

Oh,  the  brave  music  of  a dista?it  Drum  ! 

As  F.  ii.  13,  it  practically  reached  its  final  form  ; 

Some  for  the  glories  of  this  World ; and  some 
Sigh  for  the  Prophet’s  Paradise  to  come  ; 

Ah,  take  the  Cash  and  let  the  Credit  go, 

Nor  heed  the  rumble  of  a distant  Drum  ! 

1.  L and  W.  read  mara  chu  s^ir^  for  lehisht-i-Adan,  meaning  “ for  me  like  a 
nuptial  banquet  with  houris,”  etc.  Paris  MS.  has  a synonymous  variant. 

2 The  second  line  in  C reads,  “ And  that  that  after-life  will  be  pleasant 
with  music  and  brightness  ” 


jy^  ^ (“) 


^ (1) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


T51 


JjAsiw*  J ^S^J^T 

rr 

>U 

jL#  sJ|^b  t-SAuis)  j)  ^ \^yiri^ 
us-^—oL*  ^ 

ur^-oL*  ^ 

rp 

«J,  ^ C&>«vU^  kVjJ 

«vA«vvv5o^i>.  t^T 


bring  forth  the  cup,  for  those  that  drink  the  morning  draught 
are  independent  of  the  mosque  and  free  from  the  synagogue. 


33« 

The  heavenly  vault  is  the  girdle  of  my  weary  body,^ 
Jihun“  is  a water-course  worn  by  my  filtered  tears/ 
hell  is  a spark  from  my  useless  worries, 

Paradise'^  is  a moment  of  time  when  I am  tranquil. 


34- 

They  say  that  the  garden  of  Eden  ^ is  pleasant  with  houris : 
I say  that  the  juice  of  the  grape  is  pleasant.'^ 


12—-2 


152 


Notes 


3.  This  is  W.  s line,  which  cannot  be  improved  upon.  It  is  a common 
Persian  proverb.  Compare  the  last  line  of  q.  40  (post).  L.  for  be-dar  reads 
bc-shu,  synonymous. 

4 C.,  L.,  and  W.  for  birader  read  shinudaii  1 = to  hear, 

5.  Compare  q.  125, 1.  4.  This  line  refers  to  the  kettledrums  suspended  at 
the  gates  of  oriental  palaces  to  summon  soldiers,  etc  Compare  Gulistan,  ch.  v., 
story  20 : 

Till  thou  hearest  the  morning  call  from  the  Friday  mosque, 

Or  the  noise  of  kettledrums  on  Atabek's  palace-gate. 2 

Compare  also  the  distich  in  FitzGerald’s  translation  of  M.  in  L.  R.,  vol  ii., 
p.  463 

Or  lust  of  worldly  Glory — hollow  more 
Than  the  Drum  beaten  at  the  Sultan's  Door. 

Cf.  M.,  11.  2162  and  2753.  (Terminal  Essay,  p.  312.) 


35- 

This  quatrain  is  C.  80,  P.  284,  L.  188,  B.  1S5,  and  W.  107.  In  the  first  two 
lines  we  recognise  the  sentiment  of  F.  i.  23,  v.  24,  which  remained  unaltered  in 
all  the  editions ; 

Ah  ! make  the  most  of  what  we  yet  may  spend, 

Before  we  too  into  the  Dust  descend; 

Dust  into  Dust,  and  under  Dust  to  lie, 

Sans  Wine,  sans  Song,  sans  Singer,  and — sans  End  ! 

And  in  the  last  line  we  recognise  the  last  lines  of  F.  v.  63,  which  alone  remain  as 
the  last  lines  of  F.  i.  26  This  (F.  i.  26)  is  undoubtedly  inspired  by  this  ruba’i : 

Oh  ! come  with  old  Khayyam,  and  leave  the  Wise, 

To  talk  ; one  thing  is  certain,  that  life  flies  ; 

One  thing  is  certain,  and  the  Rest  is  Lies — 

The  Flower  that  once  has  blown  for  ever  dies. 

It  occurs  also  as  in  the  last  line  of  F.  ii.,  23,  which  was  omitted  in  F.  iii.  and  iv 
Cf.  Purgatorio,  xiv.  86-  “O  gente  umana,  perche  poni  il  core  la  ’v’  e mestier  di 
consorto  divieto?  ” 

I.  It  is  open  to  conjecture  whether  this  word  should  be  read  gil^  = clay,  or 
gul  ^ = roses ; and  in  C.  there  is  a zamnmh,  making  it  gul ; * and  W.  afldxes  a 
hasmh,  making  it  gil.^  Non  nostrum  tantas  mnponere  htes. 

36- 

This  quatrain  is  B.  93  ; it  is  found  by  W.  only  in  this  MS.  and  the  Lucknow 
edition,  where  it  is  97,  and  it  is  reproduced  as  W.  106. 

I.  Literally,  "This  is  your  very  interest  from  the  period  of  your  youth.” 
L.  reads  " your  very  self.”  “ 

^ tiU  Ij  ^ (^)  (^) 

^ 

(S)  ^ (4^  (3) 


Tmnscript  Mid  Translation 


153 


^ jSi  jjii 

J>b  cji*  y 

n 

• • 

cr.  ^ 1 Uk  ^ 

J 1 <-K-*XoUi. 

'“Tri  ’»:f 

'"inS'./ .r  >y  LiU-'t' 

• ^ 

Hold  fast  this  cash  and  let  that  credit  g 

i8 

■0,^ 

for  the  noise  of  drums,  brother,**  is  pleasant  from  afar.® 


35- 

Drink  wine,  for  thou  wilt  sleep  long  beneath  the  clay* 
without  an  intimate,  a friend,  a comrade,  or  wife ; 
take  care  that  thou  tell’st  not  this  hidden  secret  to  anyone : — 
The  tulips  that  are  withered  will  never  bloom  again. 

36- 

Drink  wine,  for  this  is  life  eternal, 

this  is  thy  gain  from  the  days  of  thy  youth ; * 


154 


Notes 


2.  W 's  text  reads  (from  the  Lucknow  edition) . ''It  is  the  season  of  roses  and 
wine  and  drunken  friends.”  i 


3.  i.e , ” for  that  is  the  only  thing  worth  living  for.” 


37- 

I do  not  find  this  quatrain  in  C.,  L.,  N.,  or  W , nor  does  F.  appear  to  have 
used  it. 

1,  Note  the  objective  m governing  all  that  goes  before  it. 

2.  Literally,  “ after  my  heart,”  i e.,  ” in  my  heart's  opinion.” 

38. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  81,  P.  261,  L 189,  S P.  93,  B.  186,  N.  93,  and  W 95. 
and  we  find  in  it  the  sentiment  of  F.  v.  61,  which  made  its  first  appearance  as 
F ii.  63,  and  was  never  altered,  though  F.  had  C.  81  before  him  when  he  made  his 
first  edition ; 

Why,  be  this  Juice  the  growth  of  God,  who  dare 

Blaspheme  the  twisted  tendril  as  a Snare  ? 

A Blessing,  we  should  use  it,  should  we  not  ? 

And  if  a Curse, — why,  then.  Who  set  it  there  ? 

Mr.  Dole  (D  , p.  iiS)  derives  this  from  a quatrain  N.  226  and  W.  265,  but  he 
had  not  studied  the  Calcutta  and  Bodleian  MSS.  It  is  true  that  F.  had  N.  before 
him  when  he  made  his  second  edition,  but  this  C.  and  B.  quatrain  is  nearer  the 
sentiment  of  his  own,  and  N.’s  translation  takes  unwarrantable  liberties  with 
his  text. 


Transcript  and  Translation 


155 


rv 

c:i.'VA-s^l  ^y* 

c:^  » * 1 pLk_,4,-Jt5 

^1  iSJ  ^1=*.^  J^?J. 

^l£>  j-vd  j)\ 

rA 

^ J>' 


/^U  bh  0 \S^L>^ 


#■  / 


19 


a season  of  roses,  and  wine,  and  drunken  companions”- 
be  happy  for  a moment  for  this  is  life ! “ 


37- 

Give  me  wine  which  is  a salve  for  my  wounded  heart, 
it  is  the  boon  companion  of  those  who  have  trafficked  in  love ; ^ 
to  my  mind”  the  dregs  of  a single,  draught  are  better 
than  the  vault  of  heaven  which  is  the  hollow  of  the  world's 
skull. 

38- 

I drink  wine,  and  my  enemies  from  left  and  right 

say : — “ Do  not  drink  wine,  for  it  is  the  foe  of  religion.” 


Notes 


156 


I.  A reference  to  the  permission  given  to  Muhammadans  in  ch  ii  of  the 
Qur’an  and  elsewhere  to  slay  all  foes  of  Islam. 


39- 

This  quatrain  is  B.  55,  and  is  found  by  W.  only  in  this  MS.  and  in  the 
Lucknow  edition,  where  it  is  58,  and  it  is  reproduced  as  W.  105. 

I.  L begins,  “Wine!  thou  art  a melted  ruby."i  All  the  texts  teem  with 
references  to  the  ruby  that  “ kindles  in  the  vine  ” (F  v.  5),  and  the  idea  of  the 
“ molten  ruby  " is  commonly  recurrent  in  oriental  verse  Compare  the  passage  in 
the  Beharistan  (7th  Garden)  : 

Wine  is  said  to  be  a molten  ruby, 


Whoever  beheld  that  cornelian  wine 
Cannot  discern  it  from  melted  cornelian ; 

Both  are  of  one  essence,  but  in  nature, 

The  one  is  solid,  the  other  fluid. 

The  one  powdered  colours  the  hand,  the  other  tasted  mounts  to  the  head. 

2 Literally,  “ that  is  laughing  with  wine  ” 

3.  L.  begins,  “Cup,  thou  art  a charm  (or  hope).  The  change  in  these 
two  lines  from  the  second  to  the  third  person  is  noteworthy. 


40. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  107,  L.  89,  S.  P.  92,  B.  85,  N.  g2,  and  W.  94,  and  we  get 
again  in  it  the  images  of  the  earthly  cash  and  heavenly  credit  (F.  v 13),  and  the 
sensuous  repose  of  the  desert  verses  (F,  v.  ii  and  12)  before  referred  to. 

I.  N.  begins  hud — *'  was  an  inhabitant  of  Heaven  “ ; whilst  C.  and  W.  read 
“Made  an  inhabitant  of  pleasant  Heaven  or,"  etc.^  L.  reads  kerd  for  guft, 
'*Mad&  me  to  dwell,”  etc. 


U 


i j*'  'j/  (®)  y (“)  i/*  y (*) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


157 


^ <iij|^ 


r"i 


*■"  ^ *««i*.*.j  i l3^ 

cju^psvJ  I — fs  ^Jf^  ^ I f A,i.  >..4.*,«*r^. 

~j^^.  J J'^  Jj  dt^  I 

t=^- 


ca.A.^a^.*^  |4.3  1 Jj 


When  I knew  that  wine  was  the  foe  of 
I said: — ^'By  Allah!  let  me  drink  the 
lawful,’’ 1 

39- 

Wine  is  a melted  ruby^  and  the  cup  is  the  mine  thereof ; 
the  cup  is  a body  ^ and  its  wine  is  the  soul  thereof ; 
that  crystal  cup  that  is  bubbling  over  ^ with  wine 
is  a tear  in  which  the  heart’s  blood  is  hidden. 

40. 

I know  not  whether  he  who  fashioned  me 
appointed^  me  to  dwell  in  heaven  or  in  dreadful  hell, 


/ 

J LiO 


• • r 


20 


religion, 

foe’s  blood,  for  that  is 


158 


Notes 


2.  Literally,  “an  idol." 

3.  C.,  L , N.,  and  W.  for  “food"  and  “wine ’’ read  “goblet”  1 and  “lute,” ^ 
from  which  F.  doubtless  got  his  “Thou  beside  me  singing  in  the  wilderness.” 

4 t.e  , “ These  are  what  I am  enjoying  (as  ready  cash)  in  this  life,  whilst 
you  are  only  expecting  them  (credit)  in  Heaven.” 


41. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  62,  P.  45,  L.  80,  S.  P 95.  B 76,  N.  95,  W.  g6,  and 
contains  the  inspiration  for  F.  v.  72  (F.  i.  52)  ; 

And  that  inverted  Bowl  they  call  the  Sky, 

Whereunder  crawling  coop’d  we  live  and  die, 

Lift  not  your  hands  to  It  for  help,  for  It 
As  impotently  moves  as  you  or  I. 

Cf.  M.,  1.  24  : “ The  sky  is  like  a bird  that  flutters  in  the  direction  commanded  by 
God.”  (Terminal  Essay,  p.  308.)  Compare  q.  154. 

1.  N.  reads  “Everything  good.”  ^ 

2.  mhdd  is  “ a thing  placed,”  therefore  nihdd-i-hashav  = h}im2.iL  nature. 

3.  hazd  and  hadav : “The  decree  existing  in  the  divine  mind  from  all 
eternity,  and  the  execution  and  declaration  of  the  decree  at  the  appointed  time ; 
the  Recording  Angels  ” (Steingass,  Diet.). 

4.  C.  and  N.  read  dar  rdh-i-ishft,  ^ in  the  way  of  (divine)  love. 


42. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  114,  P,  149,  L.  215,  S.  P.  98,  B.  212,  N.  98,  and  W.  99. 
We  get  in  it  an  echo  of  q.  10,  aiite. 

I.  wamki-zi-'ishk  is  eminently  symbolical.  It  may  be  interpreted  “ a love 
story  ” ; so  in  French,  “ une  piigc  d'cimour."  N.  and  W.  read  for  this  tarahl-zi-' ahl,^ 
“a  joy  from  wisdom”;  whilst  C.  and  L.  have  rakami-zi-'ahl,^  “the  study  of 
wisdom,”  and  the  verb  is  in  the  negative."^ 


j (^)  (*)  (^)  (1) 

(0  J*®  j (®) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


I5Q 


d^^^jci  ^1 


jLs.3  6^  ^yjj 
U^X9  JkI  dS  t^^Lia 

iJilP  ^JolS*  C^  ^ 

2S^ la^  j^,  J^y-^  y^  y^ 


rv 

J'^  y.  ^ 

]jSy  ^Lo  y^y  ^yyy  ‘■^ 


blit  some  food,  and  an  adored  one,'-^  and  wine,^  upon  the  ^een 
bank  of  a field — 

all  these  three  are  cash  to  me : thine  be  the  credit-heaven  ! ^ 


41. 

The  good^  and  the  bad  that  are  in  man’s  nature,^ 
the  happiness  and  misery  that  are  predestined^  for  us — 
do  not  impute  them  to  the  heavens,  for  in  the  way  of  Wisdom  ^ 
those  heavens  are  a thousandfold  more  helpless  than  thou  art. 

42. 

Whosoever  has  engrafted  the  leaf  of  love^  upon  his  heart, 
not  one  day  of  his  life  has  been  wasted; 


i6o 


Notes 


2 C , P.,  N.,  and  W for  tot  read  khud ; tc.,  Ins  own  comfort.  L reads 
idn,  t e , “ the  comfort  of  his  soul  ” 

43- 

This  quatrain  is  C 47,  B ii  105,  L.  no,  and  W 104  (W.  does  not  collate 
C.),  and  it  is  included  as  E C.  4.  It  is  the  original  of  one  of  F.’s  most  beautiful 
verses,  F.  v.  ig  (F.  i 18)  : 

I sometimes  think  that  never  blows  so  red 
The  Rose  as  where  some  buried  Caesar  bled ; 

That  every  Hyacinth  the  Garden  wears 
Dropt  in  her  Lap  from  some  once  lovely  Head. 

Compare  Herrick's  verse  (Hesperides)  ; 

In  this  little  Urne  is  laid 
Prewdence  Baldwin  (once  my  maid), 

From  whose  happy  spark  here  let 
Spring  the  purple  violet. 

1.  B.  ii , L and  C.  read,  " In  every  desert  where  there  is  a tulip-bed."  ^ 

2.  B.  ii.,  L.  and  C.  read,  "Those  tulips  have  come  there  from  the  blood 
of  a king.”  2 

3.  L.  and  W.  for  shdkh  read  barg^  = leaf. 

4.  This  admiration  for  moles  is  universal  in  the  East.  Compare  Beharis- 
tan,  4th  Garden  ; " He  fell  madly  in  love  with  her  attractions,  distracted  by  her 
curls  and  her  mole.”  And  so  Hafiz: 

If  that  lovely  maid  of  Shiraz  would  accept  my  heart, 

I would  give  for  the  black  mole  on  her  cheek  the  cities  of 
Samarcand  and  Bokhara  * 


44. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  109,  P.  165,  L.  83,  B.  79,  and  W.  103. 

I.  Literally,  ” Sit  not  secure." 

Jo  0^1  ut  0T  J^\  ji  (®) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


i6i 


Uj—iis  b 

pr 

cS-iuijJ  jiLid  j-b 

Pf. 

^|j 

^ ^ ^.1 


either  he  strives  to  meet  with  God’s  approbation, 
or  he  chooses  bodily  ^ comfort  and  raises  the  wine-cup. 

43- 

Everywhere  that  there  has  been  a rose  or  tulip-bed,^ 
there  has  been  spilled  the  crimson  blood  of  a king;^ 
every  violet  shoot^  that  grows  from  the  earth 
is  a mole  that  was  once  upon  the  cheek  of  a beauty.^ 

44* 

Be  prudent,  for  the  means  of  life  are  uncertain  ; 
take  heed,^  for  the  sword  of  destiny  is  keen. 


i62 


Notes 


45- 

It  wil  be  observed  that  this  quatrain,  which  is  not  to  be  found  in  C.,  N.,  or 
W , is  practically  a paraphrase  of  q.  40  {a7ite).  Line  2 is  practically  identical  with 
line  4 of  q.  40,  whilst  line  4 is  identical  with  line  4 of  q 18  (a7ite)  The  quatrain  is 
probably  spurious.  Compare  also  q.  32  [ante)  and  q.  76  {post).  P.  221  is  almost 
identical,  and  L.  has  a corresponding  quatrain.  No  37  (B,  34),  the  first  three  lines 
of  which  read : 

A goblet,  and  wine,  and  a cup-bearer  on  the  bank  of  the  field; 

Let  all  these  be  mine,  and  mayst  thou  enjoy  all  heaven ; 

Hearken  not  to  discourse  concerning  heaven  and  hell  from  anyone. 1 

1.  See  note  2,  q.  32,  mttc. 

2.  Compare  q.  40,  1.  4.  "Cash”  = present  enjoyment;  "credit”  = 
future  bliss.  It  will  be  observed  that,  though  the  Persian  is  here  practically 
identical,  the  rendering  is  different.  The  laws  of  Persian  prosody,  to  which 
Omar  ever  paid  strict  attention,  require  that  lines  2 and  4 should  not  end  with  a 
word  identical  in  sound  and  meaning,  be-kisht,  therefore,  at  the  end  of  line  2,  is 
the  third  person  singular  of  the  aorist  tense  of  the  verb  hishta^i^  = to  rob. 

3.  Compare  q.  18, 1.  4. 


46, 

This  quatrain  is  P.  1S3,  B,  225,  and  W.  135  (taken  by  him  from  this  MS. 
and  the  Lucknow  edition,  where  it  is  No.  228),  and  is  one  of  the  pair  (with  q.  94, 
post)  from  which  F.  derived  his  allusion  to  chess  in  F.  v.  6g.  Cf.  also  C.  336. 

I.  To  the  Persian  the  Chinese  type  of  countenance  was  singularly  beauti- 
ful. chin  means  also  porcelain  (or  a porcelain  idol).  Compare  Beharistiin  (7th 
Garden) : 

" When  my  love  arranged  the  entangled  hyacinth  lock  of  hair, 

She  placed  the  stamp  of  envy  upon  the  heart  of  Chinese  painters  ’ 


(2)  ji  J (1) 

} Cl— 


Transcript  and  Translation 


‘^>-T  aS" 


fb 

<— ^Ij  <®Aj 

c**  iJsJIj  1^- 

^JJl  J C:*  (JJ 

Jw.T  (SS’^  <1^ 


r-1 


_>J  aal^j  y 

CA  aAjdo  y 

23 

If  fortune  place  almond-sweets  in  thy  very  mouth, 
beware!  swallow  them  not,  for  poison  is  mingled ’therein. 

45- 

One  jar  of  wine  and  a lover’s  lips,  on  the  bank  of  the  sown 
field  ^ — 

these  have  robbed  me  of  cash,  and  thee  of  the  credit.® 

Some  are  pledged  to  heaven  or  hell, 

but  who  ever  went  to  hell,  and  who  ever  came  from  heaven  ? ® 

46. 

O thou,  whose  cheek  is  moulded  upon  the  model  of  the 
wild  rose, 

whose  face  is  cast  in  the  mould  of  Chinese  idols,^ 


164 


Notes 


2.  W.  says  the  Lucknow  edition  for  Bahil  reads  mail  (=  “fond").  It  may 
do  so  in  his  copy,  but  it  certainly  does  not  in  mine,  where  it  reads  distinctly 
matl-ra}^  which  neither  I,  nor  anyone  I have  been  able  to  consult,  understand. 
shah-77iat  means  “ check-mate"  at  chess,  but  the  termination  forbids  us  to  seek  for 
an  interpretation  in  this  analogue.  Mr.  Ellis  of  the  British  Museum  suggests 
that  the  w is  inserted  in  error,  and  that  the  scribe  meant  to  say  Jtl,  the  ancient 
name  for  the  province  of  Astrakhan  The  suggestion  is  an  interesting  and 
valuable  one  At  the  same  time,  I think  it  not  improbable  that  the  error  is  in 
my  (later)  edition  of  L.,  for  we  find  this  word  mail  in  B.,  which  was  taken  from 
the  187S  edition  of  L to  which  W.  refers. 

3.  The  Persian  chessmen  referred  to  are  respectively,  asp  — horse  = knight ; 
ntkh  = cheek  = castle,  whence  our  term  rook  (^)  ; pll  = elephant  = bishop  ; Uzak  = 
flag  = pawn ; and  fayzln=  queen.  The  pawns  are  often  csMed  piadeJigan  ^ = footmen. 
P.  and  W.  give  pll,  which  is  the  Persian,  instead  of  pll,  which  is  Arabic. 
Owners  of  the  familiar  ivory  chessmen  that  come  from  the  East  will  recognise 
the  above  terms.  The  game  is  called  in  Persian  shatranj,'^  '■  the  hundred  cares," 
or  shah-i-ranj " the  royal  care,"  or  shash  rafig,^  “ the  six  colours,  or  ranks." 

47- 

This  quatrain  varies  a good  deal  in  the  texts.  It  is  C.  123,  P.  51,  L.  229, 
S.  P,  105,  B.  226,  N.  105,  W 134,  and  E C 2,  and  it  inspired  F v.  8,  which  made 
its  first  appearance  as  F.  ii  8,  and  was  never  altered . 

Whether  at  Naishapur  or  Babylon, 

Whether  the  Cup  with  sweet  or  bitter  run. 

The  Wine  of  Life  keeps  oozing  drop  by  drop, 

The  Leaves  of  Life  keep  falling  one  by  one. 

This  was  doubtless  one  of  the  quatrains  of  which  F.  was  “reminded’  by  N.’s 
edition,  for  “ Naishapur  " occurs  only  in  that  text  (of  those  before  F).  C.  and 
L.,  like  this,  have  " Baghdad." 

1.  W for  chwi  'umr  Jteml  ravad  reads  chuii  jan  ha-lah  cmad^  = “since  the 
soul  comes  to  the  lips,"  a familiar  oriental  figure  for  the  approach  of  death.  Note 
F.  ii.  46,  V.  43  : 

And,  proffering  his  Cup,  invite  your  Soul 
Forth  to  your  Lips  to  quaff — you  shall  not  shrink  ; 

and  hundreds  of  quotable  passages  from  the  Persian  poets ; as,  for  instance,  in 
the  Gulistan,  chap.  i.  story  16,  “Many  a man  was  at  the  point  of  death. 

CJ.  M.,  11.  340,  3031,  2501,  et  passim 

2.  The  texts  we  are  using  are  equally  divided  The  texts  of  N.  and  W. 
give  us  Nishapur,  and  L and  the  MSS.  Baghdad. 

3.  Balkh  was  one  of  the  capitals  of  Khurasan  Being  a rhyme  word,  it 
never  alters  ; but  it  is  not  surprising  that  F.  discarded  it  for  the  more  euphonious 
Babylon.  Babil  (Babylon)  and  Baghdad  are  often  interchanged  as  synonyms 
in  oriental  literature. 

4.  The  readings  of  these  two  first  lines  vary  very  much,  beyond  indeed  the 
power  of  perfect  collation  in  a note  The  first  line  of  C.,  L.,  and  N.  runs  ■ 
“ Since  life  passes  what  is  sweet  and  what  is  bitter."^  Line  2 of  N.  is  line  i of  W. 
There  is  a parallel  passage  to  be  found  in  the  Gulistan,  chap.  i.  story  i : 

(r/ifi  notes  to  page  165  are  continued  on  page  166.) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


165 


IjJjI]  (tsa  sjIj  y 


pv 


jljsiJ  ii_y 

^ v'  ji/  .y^  ^'*^' 

dJ  ^1  kdjT  ^.va  ^1 


PA 


idw^J  >di^  d— ^ I ^ ' I 

d~~v^4j6  «i^,.<;‘^l  dS'L^I^ 


24 

yesterday  thy  amorous  glance  gave  to  the  Shah  of  Babylon^ 
the  moves  of  the  Knight,  the  Castle,  the  Bishop,  the  Pawn, 
and  the  Queen.® 

47- 

Since  life  passes ; ^ what  is  Baghdad  ® and  what  is  Balkh  ? ® 
When  the  cup  is  full,  what  matter  if  it  be  sweet  or  bitter  ? ^ 
Drink  wine,  for  often,  after  thee  and  me,  this  moon 
will  pass  on  from  the  last  day  of  the  month  to  the  first,  and 
from  the  first  to  the  last.® 

48. 

Of  those  who  draw  the  pure  date  wine  ^ 
and  those  who  spend  the  night  in  prayer,® 

13 


1 V vt 


)t>\ 


ff>  /i/(» 


i66 


Notes 


When  the  pure  soul  is  on  the  point  of  departure, 

What  if  one  dies  on  a throne  or  on  the  face  of  the  earth.s 

5.  Here  will  be  observed  an  echo  of  F.’s  concluding  quatrains  The  P. 
MS.  for  " Drink  wine ! ” reads  the  equally  recurrent  "Be  happy  I " 

48. 

This  quatrain  is  P.  214,  B 283,  and  W.  222.  derived  from  this  MS.,  and 
No.  287  of  the  Lucknow  edition. 

I L.  reads  skerab  for  ncihlz  = “pure  wine  ” P.  reads  “ continual  draughts 
of  date  wine  “ = mudant.  Vide  note  2,  q.  117* 

2.  Literally,  “and  those  who  by  night  are  always  at  the  Mihrab."  (Vide 
q 2,  note  I ) L.  for  hemzsheh  gives  the  synonym  m'liddm.^  There  are  other  equally 
unimportant  variations  in  L. 

(5)  iSSSj  yi-i.  (*)  gij  (3)  gijUu,  (2)  (^) 

C)  ish'  l5^  (^) 

(S)  jh  Sjs.  ^ 

(11)  U (1®)  ^1^  (9) 


3,  i,e.t  “Not  one  is  sure;  all  are  at  sea.”  Cf.  M.,  1 387.  “I  trust  that 
Thou  wilt  rescue  me  from  this  dark  water,  and  re-establish  me  in  Thy  path.” ^ 
Cf.  Shahbistari,  G'ulshan  i raz,  1.  27. 

4.  ie , God.  Compare  F.  v.  51 : “ They  change  and  perish  all— but  He 
remains.” 

49. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  140,  P,  127,  B,  ii.  153,  L.  264,  B.  260,  W.  217,  and 
is  a good  specimen  of  the  quatrains  that  have  “ carpe  diem  ” for  their  text. 
There  is  a suggestion  also  in  it  of  q.  68. 

1.  puyidan  means  literally  “ to  run  to  and  fro,  to  search.” 

2.  B.  ii.  and  L.  read  “ this  single  moment  of  companionship.”  ^ 

3.  Cf.  Paradiso,  xxvi.  137,  “ I’uso  de’  mortali  e come  fronda  in  ramo,  che 
sen  va,  ed  ultra  viene.” 

50- 

This  quatrain  occurs  only  in  this  MS.  and  L.  262  (in  which  there  are  unim- 
portant variations),  and  is  reproduced  in  W.  216.  It  contains,  I think,  the 
inspiration  of  F.  v.  54  : 

Waste  not  your  Hour,  nor  in  the  vain  pursuit 
Of  this  and  that  endeavour  and  dispute  ; 

Better  be  jocund  with  the  fruitful  Grape, 

Than  sadden  after  none,  or  bitter  Fruit. 

I.  literally  “discernment.” 

(1) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


167 


jO=j 

^<i3  C£uci5^  du*J^  ^1  ^ 


not  one  is  on  the  dry  land,  all  are  in  the  water.^ 
One  is  awake  the  others  are  asleep. 


49. 

This  intellect  that  haunts^  the  path  of  happiness 
keeps  saying  to  thee  a hundred  times  a day : — 

“ Understand  in  this  single  moment  of  thine  existence,^  that 
thou  art  not 

like  those  herbs  which  when  they  gather  them  spring  up  again,*’ 


50. 

Those  who  are  the  slaves  of  intellect  and  hair-splitting,^ 
have  perished  in  bickerings  about  existence  and  non-existence; 

13—2 


i68 


Notes 


2.  W.  reads  hakhabavan  = " wise  ones,"  but  this  is  not  in  this  MS.,  to  which 
alone  he  refers  in  his  note. 

3.  The  obscurity  of  the  meaning  here  baffles  satisfactory  translation. 

51- 

This  quatrain  is  C.  129,  P.  55,  B.  ii.  158,  L.  232.  S.  P.  157,  N.  157,  W.  176, 
de  T.  17,  and  doubtless  inspired  F.  v.  47: 

When  You  and  I behind  the  Veil  are  past, 

Oh,  but  the  long  long  while  the  World  shall  last, 

Which  of  our  Coming  and  Departure  heeds, 

As  the  Sea’s  self  should  heed  a pebble  cast. 

It  varies  considerably  in  the  texts  under  consideration,  excepting  in  B.  ii., 
which  is  identical.  FitzGerald's  last  line  contains  an  echo  of  the  first  line  of 
q.  18  (vids  anU). 

1.  N.  reads  for  this  line,  "Fromwy  creation  the  Age  (derived)  no  advantage."  ^ 
C.  and  P.  are  identical  with  N , preserving  gardunrd  for  dawrdnrd. 

2.  C.,  P.,  N.,  L.,  and  W.  read  '•btirdan  " 2 for  "raftan,"  which  gives  a passive 
rather  than  an  active  meaning  to  the  process  of  departure. 

3.  C.,  P.,  L.,  N.,  and  W.  ready^A  ujaldlish^  ioxjemdl  wajdhash,  which  conveys 
the  same  idea. 

4.  N.  reads  this  line  (in  conformity  with  his  line  i),  “ What  might  be  the 

object  of  my  creation  or  extinction."  ^ C.,  L.,  and  P.  retain  the  expression 
az  on  account  of,"  as  in  this  MS. 

52. 

This  quatrain  varies  a good  deal  in  the  texts.  The  parallel  quatrains  are 
C.  117,  B.  ii.  148,  L.  358,  S.  P.  112,  and  N.  112,  and  it  forms  the  sixth  of  de  T.’s 
examples  from  this  MS.  L.  371  and  B.  367  are  corresponding  qq. 

1.  i.e.t  " The  Path  of  (Divine)  Love  leads  to  destruction,"  x.e.,  to 
spiritual  annihilation.  C,  and  N.  for  andar  rdh-i-ishk  read  az  defter4‘Umr^  = 
"from  the  Book  of  Existence."  Compare  Hafiz: 

The  path  of  love  is  a path  to  which  there  is  no  end, 

In  which  there  is  no  remedy  for  lovers  but  to  give  up  their  souls.® 

2.  C.,  B.  ii.,  L.,  and  N.  for  chang  read  the  weaker  form  " hands." 
Cf.  M.,  11.  1059-1062.  "If  thou  becomest  as  I say,  thou  wilt  not  be  God,  but 
thou  wilt  be  annihilated  in  Him."^ 

3.  Literally,  " we  must  perish." 

jliT  yj-  (®)  O Id-  ) W 

0^  6,^1  jf£>  1®»»T 


Transcript  and  Translation 


i6g 


O*^ 


J^jii  JUc.  j,j 

fiyj^  jj  -j^  jy 

^ J^.  i^J  Ji  ,^J-T 


c>Y 


^5^®-  &j  ^jj| 
J^ll  ^ Jr^l  <jsSjj^  jJ 


go,  thou  ignorant  one,^  and  choose  father  grape-juice, 
for  the  ignorant  from  eating  dry  raisins  have  become  like  unripe 
grapes  themselves? 

51- 

My  coming  was  of  no  profit  to  the  heavenly  sphere,^ 
and  by  my  departure ^ naught  will  be  added  to  its  beauty  and 
dignity ; ® 

neither  from  anyone  have  my  two  ears  heard 
what  is  the  object  of  this  my  coming  and  going.^ 

52. 

We  must  be  effaced  in  the  way  of  love,^ 
we  must  be  destroyed  ^ in  the  talons  of  destiny 


j6h 


26 


170 


Notes 


4 B ii.  and  N for  farigh  ma~mshin  read  khush  khush  mam^  = gaily  to  us. 
This  line  in  C.  reads,  " Whenever  your  head  rises  superior  to  wisdom."  ^ 

5 B ii  and  N.  are  identical  with  this,  but  C.  reads,  "The  end  is  that 
we  must  go  below  the  dust,"^  in  which  we  recognise  the  line  F.  v.  24,  1.  3, 
" Dust  into  Dust  and  under  Dust  to  lie." 


53- 

This  quatrain  is  P.  310,  L.  296,  S P.  122,  B.  292,  N.  122,  and  W.  149.  It 
contains,  like  many  other  quatrains,  the  key-note  of  the  whole  poem. 

1.  Note  the  ironical  contrast  between  kamdam-i-pukhta,  "the  mature  friend," 
and  may-i-kham,  "the  new  wine."  L.  reads  the  line,  "To-day  that  is  the  end 
of  existence  nothing  remains  but  the  cup."  * This  line  of  B.  is  line  4 in  L.  Vide 
q.  117,  note  3. 

2.  Literally,  " in  our  hand  " or  " to  our  hand." 


54- 

I do  not  find  this  quatrain  elsewhere  than  at  B.  ii  144,  which  is  identical 
with  it.  Its  first  line,  coupled  with  q.  95  (q.  v),  gave  FitzGerald  the  inspiration 
for  his  F.  v.  71,  and  the  rest  of  the  quatrain  suggested  no  doubt  to  him  q.  107 
of  F.  ii.,  a quatrain  that  appeared  in  that  edition  only  ; 

Better,  oh  better,  cancel  from  the  Scroll 
Of  Universe  one  luckless  Human  Soul, 

Than  drop  by  drop  enlarge  the  Flood  that  rolls 
Hoarser  with  Anguish  as  the  Ages  roll. 

It  will  be  observed  that  F.  missed  the  significance  of  the  original. 

1.  Literally,  "does  not  become  of  another  colour."  Compare  the  Arabic 
expression,  "It  is  Written  • 

2.  jigar  hhun  means  literally,  "liver-blood,"  a universal  orientalism  to 
signify  profound  grief 


jty-  'y  (®) 
(5) 


£iJUA« 

fikXiU.i  I*!©*,  (^) 


Ir*  (^) 

OUlb  ^ 


Transcript  a?td  Translation 


/ LiiJ 

jjli  aj.^a 


t>r 

JjLi  |.li  ^ c)>^' 

ljjL*3  |•^^S. 

^\  c^^ps  ^ 

Jj  Ui  [*W'  uiMtui  J\S  d,i 


bf 


yijiJ  ^ ^'^Jj^j>J 


27 

0 sweet-faced  Cup-bearer,  sit  thou  not  idle,^ 
give  to  me  water,  for  dust  I must  become.® 

53- 

Now  that  nothing  but  the  mere  name  of  our  happiness 
remains, 

the  only  old  friend  that  remains  is  new  wine;^ 

withhold  not  the  merry  hand  from  the  wine-cup 

to-day  that  nothing  but  the  cup  remains  within  our  reach.^ 

54- 

What  the  Pen  has  written  never  changes,^ 
and  grieving  only  results  in  deep  affliction  ; ^ 


172 


Notes 


3.  A somewhat  similar  expression,  Mwt  hhurdan,  "to  eat  blood”;  t£.,to 
suffer  affliction. 

4.  i.e.t  "You  do  not  influence  any  part  of  your  destiny.”  Compare 
Matthew  vi.  27:  ''And  which  of  you  by  being  anxious  can  add  one  cubit  unto 
his  stature”  (or  "age”). — R&viscd  Version. 


55- 

This  quatrain  is  not  to  be  found  in  any  of  the  texts  under  consideration, 
and  it  is  not  surprising  that  it  has  been  avoided  in  the  European  editions,  for 
it  is  one  of  the  most  obscure  and  involved  quatrains  in  the  collection.  I am 
indebted  to  Mr.  Whinfield  and  Dr.  E.  Denison  Ross  for  my  rendering. 

1.  mcdluli  signifies  *'  sick  people,”  here  taken  to  refer  to  the  morally 
diseased.  It  might  be  translated  "the  love-sick.” 

2.  There  is  a play  upon  words  here:  mashguli,  besides  meaning  "occu- 
pation” or  "commerce,”  is  also  a Sufi  term,  meaning  "having  spiritual  concen- 
tration.” 

3.  The  Darvish  is  a religious  mendicant ; the  word  (like  that  denoting  fakir- 
dom)  has  a secondary  meaning — ” poor,  indigent.”  (Vide  q.  119,  post.) 

4.  Another  instance  of  Omar's  affection  for  the  use  of  words  of  similar  sound. 
mahhiili  is  a term  applied  to  Darvishes  and  the  Faithful  generally;  i.e.,  the 
accepted  (of  God) — the  Elect. 


56. 

This  quatrain  is  P.  79,  B.  241,  and  is  W.  215,  drawn  from  this  MS.,  and 
No.  244  of  the  Lucknow  edition.  There  is  an  echo  of  F.  v.  46  in  it,  but  this 
was,  no  doubt,  inspired  by  a quatrain  in  Nicolas’  text  (N.  137,  W.  161),  as  F. 
himself  suggests.  I think  that  the  poet  intends  in  this  quatrain  to  compare 
mortals  (earthly  bodies)  with  the  planets  (heavenly  bodies). 

I.  Literally,  "and  come  again  with  time.” 


Transcript  and  Translation 


173 


J*S>  ^ 

5^)la5  tsAj 


66 


S-iL«  Jj  ^^1 

lU^  (3^ 

^j— ^ 

>'y^^  iJc6»Ij 

6^1 


>3-4|^T  ‘^jlj  cInJls  <J^  l^T 

jilj  b ) Js-i-iT 


even  though,  all  thy  life,  thou  sufferest  anguish,® 
not  one  drop  becomes  increased  beyond  what  it  is.^ 

55- 

0 heart,  for  a while  seek  not  the  company  of  the  frail  ones ; ^ 
cease  for  a while  to  be  engrossed  with  the  commerce  ® of  love. 
Frequent  the  thresholds  of  the  darvishes® — 
perhaps  thou  mayest  be  accepted  for  awhile  by  the  accepted 
people.^ 

56. 

Those  who  adorn  the  Heavens  for  a fragment  of  time, 
come,  and  go,  and  come  again  as  time  goes  on ; ^ 


Ji^lj 

•* 

j l£  b 

^ • •* 

28 


174 


Notes 


2.  L.,  for  " in  the  pocket  of,"  reads  " beneath  the."  2 

3.  L.  reads  " who  in  God's  own  time  will  rise  up."^  P.  reads  "who  until 
they  are  annihilated  will  come  again."  s 


57- 

This  quatrain  is  P.  298,  L.  313,  B.  309,  and  W.  236.  The  meaning  is  very 
obscure,  and  is  involved  in  verbal  gymnastics 

1.  Literally,  "fallacies." 

2.  This  contracted  " if  " comes  from  the  beginning  of  the  next  line. 

3.  Literally,  " after  this." 

4.  These  latter  two  lines  depend  upon  the'double  meaning  of  hhuvils  = " cock  " 
and  "jar."  W.  reads  azjah  ^ (meaning  "lime  ")  for  ayra  in  the  last  line,  and  renders 
the  two  lines : 

If  they  will  shut  their  mouths  with  lime,  like  jars. 

My  jar  of  grape  juice  I will  then  forego. 

He  appends  the  following  note  . *'  B.  reads  arm,  of  which  I can  make  no  sense. 
lay  fark  idham,  ' I will  put  aside’ ; hay  fark  (line  4),  ' on  their  mouths.’  " I think 
he  stretches  the  translator's  licence  too  far  here.  I cannot  hear  of  any  authority 
for  his  rendering.  In  the  Paris  MS.  and  the  Lucknow  edition  also,  it  is  quite 
clearly  arm,  which  means  simply  a cock’s  comb  or  a saw.  We  have  here  two 
double  puns  (so  to  speak),  each  word  playing  on  both  its  meanings  in  both  places. 
L.  simplifies  lines  greatly  by  using  **  sabil-i-mai**  ^ for  ” khurus."  In  line  4 we  get 
hamchu  hhurusem , the  second  meaning  of  khurus,  " like  a jar,"  or  " like  a cock." 

5.  i.e , They  wish  to  kill  me  (by  striking  my  head  with  a saw).  Dr.  Denison 
Ross  sends  me  the  following  rendering  from  St.  Petersburg:  "Those  who  set 
the  foundations  of  faith  upon  hypocrisy,  who  come  and  draw  a distinction 
between  soul  and  body,  if  they  wish  to  place  a saw  upon  my  head  (i.e.,  kill  me), 
I,  after  this,  will  (none  the  less)  place  on  my  head  the  wine-jar  " (i.e.,  will  con- 
tinue to  drink  wine) . 


58 

This  quatrain  is  P.  141,  L.  270,  B.  266,  and  W.  214,  and  it  is  one  of  the  quatrains 
that  inspired  F.  v.  26.  (The  others  were  C.  236  (N.  120,  W.  147)  and  No.  140  of 
this  MS.,  q.  v.  post.) 

1.  W,  says  this  quatrain  is  a hit  at  the  astrologers  of  the  period.  Omar 
plays  on  the  word  aiwan,  which  may  mean  also  " a palace  " ; he  refers  at  once  to 
the  inhabitants  of  earth  and  to  the  planetary  bodies. 

2.  Literally,  " Are  the  cause  of  hesitation  to  wise  men." 


h (5) 


(^)  •xuUuT  jJDo  b 


Jij  (=)  (*) 

vx^T  S o 


Transcript  and  Translation 


175 


^ IlX^h  IJ 

6V 


<3;J>  ji  tr*^'  c)^T 

t3>*  ->  o^  (3^  -? 

i:)ij>*  ijH.  bi^  (^  y 


CiA 


^1  ^L— A— ^L-a  6^  j 


in  the  skirt  of  Heaven,  and  in  the  pocket  of^  earth, 
are  creatures  who,  while  God  dies  not,  will  yet  be  born.^ 


57- 

Those  whose  beliefs  are  founded  upon  hypocrisy,^ 

come  and  draw  a distinction  between  the  body  and  the  soul ; 

I will  put  the  wine  jar  on  my  head,  if,^  when  I have  done  so,® 
they  place  a comb  upon  my  head,®  as  if  I were  a cock.^ 

The  bodies  which  people  this  heavenly  vault, ^ 
puzzled  the  learned.^ 


176 


Notes 


3.  ishatt  hi  muddchey-and  = " those  who  regulate.” 


59- 

This  quatrain  is  C.  249,  P.  112.  B.  ii.  156,  L.  253,  B.  250,  W.  213,  E.  C.  16, 
and  contains  (mtey  alia)  the  germ  of  F.  v.  79,  which  made  its  first  appearance  as 
F.  ii.  S5  : 

What ! from  his  helpless  Creature  be  repaid 
Pure  Gold  for  what  he  lent  him  dross-allay’d — 

Sue  for  a Debt  he  never  did  contract 
And  cannot  answer — Oh,  the  sorry  trade ! 

1.  "I  am  not  that  man  (to  whom)  fear  comes  at  the  idea  of  my  non- 
existence." Note  the  use  of  71m  and  blm  in  these  two  first  lines. 

2.  C.,  and  W.  read  hwi  for  mw,  making  it  ''  that  fear  is  pleasanter  to  me 
than  this /can"  E.  C.  translates  practically  as  I have  from  this  MS.  As  we  have 
it  here,  life  here  and  life  hereafter  are  considered  as  one  vast  whole,  divided  into 
two  halves,  existence  and  non-existence. 

3.  P.  reads,  *'  It  is  a life  lent  to  me  in  this  world."  ^ 


60. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  135,  P.  223,  B.  ii.  146.  L.  245,  S.  P.  106,  N.  106, 
W.  136,  and  E.  C.  12,  and  contains  the  inspiration  of  F.  i.  38  : 

One  Moment  in  Annihilation’s  Waste, 

One  Moment  of  the  Well  of  Life  to  taste — 

The  Stars  are  setting,  and  the  Caravan 
Draws  (F.  ii.  49)  to  the  Dawn  of  Nothing— Oh,  make  haste! 

which  is  much  closer  to  the  original,  and  finer,  I think,  than  the  final  form 
F.  V.  48 : 

A Moment’s  Halt,  a momentary  taste 
Of  Being  from  the  Well  amid  the  Waste, 

And  lo  ! the  Phantom  Caravan  has  reach’d 
The  Nothing  it  set  out  from — Oh,  make  haste! 


!/•  o'«- 


Transcript  and  Translation 


177 


^UujL— S' 

/ 

«« 

jS  0T 

^ 

> 1 *•*'*'  ^ > 

OjI* 

1. 

•« 

dlki  LH  1^1 

30 

Beware  lest  thou  losest  the  end  of  the  string  of  wisdom, 
for  even  the  controllers®  themselves  become  giddy. 


59- 

I am  not  the  man  to  dread  my  non-existence/ 
for  that  half  seems  pleasanter  to  me  than  this  half;^ 
this  is  a life  which  God  has  lent  me,® 

I will  surrender  it  when  the  time  of  surrender  comes. 

60. 

This  caravan  of  life  passes  by  mysteriously ; 
mayest  thou  sei^e  the  moment  that  passes  happily! 


Notes 


178 


1.  /^(7y2/a;t=: companions,  fellow-workers. 

2.  B.  ii.,  C.,  P..  L.,  and  W.  TQ2.dpish  ar  piaUh}  which  means  the  same. 


61. 

This  quatrain  is  W.  212  and  de  T 7.  I have  not  identified  it  in  C.,  P.,  or 
L.,  which  surprises  me.  It  is  the  original  of  F.  i 70  (F.  v.  94),  which  never 
varied ; 

Indeed,  indeed,  Repentance  oft  before 
I swore — but  was  I sober  when  I swore  ? 

And  then  and  then  came  Spring,  and  Rose-in-hand 
My  threadbare  Penitence  a-pieces  tore. 

1.  Referring  to  “ thee  ” of  the  first  line. 

2.  The  " old  barren  Reason  ” of  F.  v.  55. 


62. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  196,  P.  311,  B.  ii.  167,  L.  350,  B.  346,  N.  463,  W.  208, 
E.  C.  II,  and  is  the  original  of  F.  v.  95,  which  varied  but  inappreciably  in 
the  several  editions : 

And  much  as  Wine  has  played  the  Infidel 
And  robb'd  me  of  my  Robe  of  Honour — Well, 

I wonder  often  what  the  Vintners  buy 
One  half  so  precious  as  the  stuff  they  sell. 

The  first  two  lines  in  all  the  other  texts  (C,,  P.,  B.  ii.,  L.,  N.,  and  W.)  vary 
greatly  from  this,  but  are,  inUr  se,  practically  identical.  The  same  reading  as 
theirs  is  found  in  the  Atash  Kadah  of  Azr.  It  is  as  follows : 

As  long  as  Venus  and  the  Moon  revolve  conspicuously  in  the  sky, 

No  one  shall  see  anything  better  than  ruby  wine.^ 

N.  reads  pure,  for  ^^i7  = ruby;  and  C.  reads  khushUv  = for  UhUt 

= better.  In  N.  this  quatrain  is  the  last  but  one,  out  of  its  diwan  or  alphabetical 
order,  by  way  of  apology. 

I.  This  '‘veil’*  of  modesty,  temperance,  or  reputation  figures  largely  in 
Persian  belles-lettres.  In  this  MS.  we  find  it  in  quatrains  61,  62,  65,  loi,  and  125. 
Compare  also  the  passage  in  the  Introduction  to  Sa’adi’s  Gulistan  : 

“ He  tears  not  the  veil  of  reputation  of  his  worshippers  even  for  grievous  sins, 
And  does  not  withhold  their  daily  allowance  of  bread  for  great  crimes."^ 


Transcript  and  Translation 


179 


v3^  ^ b ^ 

^ ^^*XwS> 

hX.^3  j^W'^ 

cs-w.N^.'iiJ  ^ b Ick,  ij  I tj  ^ 

^bl  <.£L-*3.J)Li  J“^^  ^ 

nr 

kXj  ^ fcXj  L— ^ js  ^ , *^  )^^-£o  T b 

Sij}  sab  ^1  1^1^  l^^la  b 

31 

Cup-bearer,  why  grieve  about  the  to-morrow  of  thy  patrons  ? ^ 
give  us  a cup  of  wine,^  for  the  night  wanes. 

61, 

Being  old,  my  love  for  thee  led  my  head  into  a snare  ; 
if  not,  how  comes  it  that  my  hand  holds  the  cup  of  date-wine? 
My  sweetheart  ^ has  destroyed  the  penitence  born  of  reason,^ 
and  the  passing  seasons  have  torn  the  garment  that  patience 
sewed. 

62. 

Although  wine  has  rent  my  veil,^ 

so  long  as  I have  a soul  I will  not  be  separated  from  wine; 


i8o 


Notes 


2.  This  "they  belongs,  as  indicated,  to  the  fourth  line. 


63 

This  quatrain  is  only  to  be  found  in  B.  ii.,  where  it  is  No.  173,  and  in  this 
MS  , and  it  is  reproduced  as  W.  235.  Its  sentiment  is  recognisable  in  F.  v.  61, 
and  in  the  great  quatuor  F.  v.  78-81,  but  F.  made  no  closer  use  of  it. 


64- 

This  quatrain  (in  varied  forms)  is  C.  242,  B.  ii.  163,  L.  340,  S.  P.  15 1, 
B.  336,  N.  151,  W.  172.  In  it,  as  in  q.  63,  we  find  the  sentiment  of  F.  v.  79  and 
perhaps  94.  Line  i of  this  quatrain  is  No.  2 in  B.  ii.,  L.,  N.,  and  W.,  which 
begin  with  line  2 of  this  quatrain. 

1.  C.,  B ii.,  N.,  and  W.  (11.  2)  read  dar  sar  (as  at  the  beginning  of  line  i), 
"in  my  head,"  a rare  expression,  though  as  W.  notes,  the  Persians  generally 
regard  the  head  as  the  seat  of  all  human  passions.  Compare  the  line  in  N.  139 
(L.  386,  B.  386,  a quatrain  neither  in  W.,  C.,  nor  in  this  MS,),  "That  hollow 
head  that  you  see  is  so  sensual."^  Note  in  11.  i and  2 the  conjunctive  pronoun 
"wj”  (my)  separated  from  sar  and  from  kef,  as  is  frequent  in  Persian  poetry. 
L.  reads  ‘'dasf'  for  ^*kef” 

2.  B.  ii.,  N,  and  W.  read  " always for  "all  the  year  round.” 


UUiiMiO 


Transcript  and  Translation 


i8i 


d^  \^sJj:a^y3  dJ 


ir 


dj^  j c- 

s?^  ^i->  ^ 

d^  jU  ^sa^  ^sUS  di^ 

np 

d>j^  r^ 

j b ^ 1 Cj-iT  dJ  L-0  d^Jti  <— iS^  ^ 

I am  in  perplexity  concerning  vintners,  for  they^ — 
what  will  they  buy  that  is  better  than  what  they  sell  ? 

63. 

So  much  generosity  and  kindness  at  the  beginning,  why  was  it? 
and  that  maintenance  of  me  with  delights  and  blandishments, 
why  was  it  ? 

Now  Thine  only  endeavour  is  to  afflict  my  heart ; 

after  all,  what  wrong  have  I done — once  more,  why  was  it  ? 

64. 

In  my  mind^  may  there  be  desire  for  idols  houri-like, 
in  my  hand  may  there  be,  all  the  year  round, ^ the  juice  of  the 
grape ; 

14 


0 C 


J Ua'Ij 


■:»ui 


y K 


i^r  -r^ 

^ -r  ! j 


3^3 


i82 


Notes 


3.  W.  alone)  reads  for  kkuda,  Izadat}  your  God.  L.  reads ; " Certain  people 
tell  me  God  will  give  repentance."  ® 

4.  N.  and  W.  read  ‘‘gives for  "will  not  give";  i.o.,  "(even  if)  he  gives  it, 
I will  none  of  it." 

5.  duram  had  answers  here  to  the  exclamation  **procul  esto ! " 


65. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  172,  L.  312,  S.  P.  142,  B.  30S,  N.  142,  and  W.  165,  and  it 
contains  the  germ  {iniBr  alia)  of  F.  v.  93-95,  inculcating  the  vanity  of  regrets  over 
soiled  reputation  or  lost  honour,  and  the  futility  of  repentance. 

1.  The  Wu2u  ablution,  or  ceremonial  washing  before  prayers,  which  consists 
in  washing  first  the  hands,  then  the  inside  of  the  mouth,  then  throwing  water  on 
the  forehead,  washing  the  whole  face,  the  arms,  and  lastly  the  feet.  (Steingass.) 

2.  Vulg.,  " to  whitewash  " = nikH  kerdan.^ 

3.  N.  and  W.  for  "Be  happy"  read  "give  wine,  for  now  this  veil,"  etc.* 
L.  is  identicg.1  with  this  MS.,  and  C.  begins  " Drink  wine,  for  this  veil,"  etc.^ 

4.  N.  appends  a note  to  the  effect  that  this  is  an  epigram  against  the 
fatalism  of  the  Qur'an  with  regard  to  pre-ordained  punishment,  which  the  Sufis 
deny  as  being  contrary  to  the  infinite  mercy  of  God. 


66. 

This  quatrain  in  this  identical  form  occurs  only  in  this  MS.  Q.  89 
(q.  I/.,  post)  is,  however,  so  closely  allied  to  it  as  to  suggest  that  one  or  the  other 
has  been  added  by  a later  scribe.  Compare  also  q.  146. 

1.  A Persian  acquaintance  of  mine  reads  thisgw?  (rose)  instead  ofg*7  (clay). 
Both  readings  are  within  the  spirit  of  the  poem,  but  the  weight  of  evidence  is, 
I think,  on  the  side  of  gul.  Vide  note  i,  q.  35. 

2.  khvdr  herdan=to  despisQ. 


Transcript  and  Translation 


183 


jLftj  iijj  ^ 


>16 

ol>^  j*ii  ^1^ 

U ^Jjjx — . “a^ji  ^1  dS’jjjtj 

6JJ  Jjj 

'll 


dj  J?  ^ 


they  say  ,a  me,  - May  God*  give  thee  repentance!” 

He  himself  will  not  give*  it;  I will  none  of  it;  let  it  be  far  off  I ■ 


65- 


In  the  tavern  thou  canst  not  perform  the  Ablution  ^ 


wine, 


save  with 


and  thou  canst  not  purify 2 a tarnished  reputation; 
be  happy, 3 for  this  veil  of  temperance  of  ours 
IS  so  torn  that  it  cannot  be  repaired.* 


uu. 

I saw  upon  the  terrace  of  a house  a man,  alone, 
who  trampled  upon  the  clay,*  holding  it  in  contempt  ;3 


14 — 2 


184 


Notes 


3.  This  expression,  which  occurs  similarly  in  qq.  Sq  and  146,  refers  to  the 
language  of  the  unknown  world.  Steingass  gives  as  a rendering  '*  language 
expressed  by  one’s  condition,”  therefore  “as  well  as  it  could,”  but  the  rendering 
given  here  is  more  correct  in  this  poem. 

4.  lakad  khurdan,  literally  “ to  eat  kicks.” 

67. 

This  quatrain  is  P.  230,  L.  291,  S P.  153,  B.  287,  N.  153,  W.  174,  and  is  the 
original  of  F.  v.  6 : 

And  David's  lips  are  lockt ; but  in  divine 
High-piping  Pehlevi  with  " Wine ' Wine  ! Wine  ! 

“ Red  Wine  • ” the  Nightingale  cries  to  the  Rose 
That  sallow  cheek  of  hers  to'  incarnadine. 

The  reference  to  “ David's  lips  ” comes  not  from  this  MS.,  but  from  M.,  1.  625, 
and  C.  89  [et passim),  David  being,  in  Oriental  poetry,  the  type  of  a sweet  singer, 
as  is  Joseph  of  male  beauty  Cf.  M.,  1.  3813.  Compare  the  Gulistan  (ch.  v., 
story  10),  “That  David-like  throat  had  changed,  his  Joseph-like  beauty  had 
faded.”  ^ Persian  poetry  is  filled  with  references  to  the  love  of  the  Nightingale 
for  the  Rose.  Cf.  M.,  11.  742-6.  Vide  q.  135,  note  2.  (Terminal  Essay,  p.  310.) 
Binning  {vide  p xxv  , note  2)  observes  that  the  Persian  nightingale  arrives  from 
its  migration  with  the  roses  in  April,  and  disappears  with  them  at  the  end  of 
the  summer.  (Vol.  ii.,  p 312.) 

1.  Literally,  ” the  cloud.” 

2.  Literally,  ” from  the  cheek  of  the  rose-garden.” 

3.  Pehlevi  (or  Pahlawi)  was  the  language  of  the  ancient  Persians.  F.  calls 
it  in  a note,  “the  old  heroic  Sanskrit,”  but  this  is  a philological  error.  L.,  N., 
and  W.  read  ha  zahdn-i-hal,  as  in  the  preceding  quatrain.  Vide  q.  66,  note  3. 

4.  Yellow  is  the  colour  indicative,  in  Persian  literature,  of  illness,  answering 
to  our  word  “sallow.”  Compare  q.  69,  line  2.  Cf,  Vita  Nuova,  viii. : “Lo  viso 
mostra  lo  color  del  core.” 

68. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  151,  P.  336,  L.  277,  S P.  156,  B,  273,  N.  156,  W 175, 
E.C.  31.  The  last  two  lines  give  us  the  origin  of  the  last  two  in  F.  v.  15  : 

And  those  who  husbanded  the  Golden  grain. 

And  those  who  flung  it  to  the  winds  like  Rain, 

Alike  to  no  such  aureate  Earth  are  turn’d 
As,  buried  once,  Men  want  dug  up  again. 

1.  E.  C.  translates  “my,”  but  sar-at  can  only  mean  *'youy  head.”  P.,  C.,  L., 
N.,  and  W.,  for  har  sar-at,  read  ghanmahdt^  — ” your  sorrows.” 

2.  Literally,  “ a night  attack,”  leading  to  the  inference  in  line  4. 

3.  P.,  L.,  and  W.  are  identical  with  this  ; C,  and  N.  read  the  line  : 

“ Order,  oh  Idol,  some  rose-coloured  wine  ” * 

^ U,  (3) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


185 


^ Jl-  J?  J 

nv 

J4^  <,?-*—*  o -?'  y-^ 

^jj  J-^ 

JjIj  dS"  J.3^  *^^J'-® 

1A 

jjjT  0^-CJlS  IJ  dS* 

34 

that  clay  said  to  him  in  mystic  language:^ — 

“Be  still,  for  like  me  thou  wilt  be  much  trampled  upon.”^ 

67. 

It  is  a pleasant  day,  and  the  weather  is  neither  hot  nor  cold; 
the  rain  ^ has  washed  the  dust  from  the  faces  of  the  roses ; ^ 
the  nightingale  in  the  Pehlevi  tongue^  to  the  yellow^  rose 
cries  ever: — “Thou  must  drink  wine!  ” 


68. 

Ere  that  fate  makes  assault^  upon  thy  head,^ 

give  orders  that  they  bring  thee  rose-coloured  wine ; ® 


i86 


Notes 


4.  Literally,  "gold."  These  two  lines  refer  to  the  practice  in  the  East  of 
burying  treasure  to  hide  it  when  a night  attack  (line  i)  of  dacoits  or  robbers  is 
anticipated.  Omar  whimsically  compares  this  practice  with  the  resurrection  of 
the  body  after  death,  which  he  doubts. 

5.  E.  C.  translates  "poor  brain-sick  fool!"  which  would  aptly  translate 
P.’s  variant,  which,  however,  he  had  not  seen. 


69. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  158,  P.  212,  B.  ii.  199,  Lv  308,  S.  P.  log,  N.  109,  and  W. 
139.  It  is  the  original  of  F.  v,  gi : 

Ah  ! with  the  Grape  my  fading  life  provide, 

And  wash  the  body  whence  the  life  has  died, 

And  lay  me,  shrouded  in  the  living  Leaf, 

By  some  not  unfrequented  Garden-side ; 

which  made  its  first  appearance  as  F.  i.  67,  with  the  last  two  lines : 

And  in  the  Winding-sheet  of  Vine-leaf  wrapt, 

So  bury  me  by  some  sweet  Garden-side. 

C/.  the  story  of  Hippocrates  in  M.,  11.  2360-2364:  "When  Hippocrates  was  at 
the  point  of  death  one  of  his  pupils  said  to  him,  ' Oh  Master,  when  we  have 
washed  and  shrouded  thy  body,  where  shall  we  bury  thee  ? * ’’  5 

1.  zinhar  = Beware  I C.,  L.,  N.,  and  W.  begin,  "Oh  Friends!  sustain 
me,"  etc.  1 

2.  Compare  q.  67,  note  4.  C.,  B.  ii.,  L.,  N.,  and  W.  read  "cheek  "2  for 

"face."  hah-ruia  means,  literally,  " attracting  straws : hence  "amber,"  the 
yjXiKTpov  of  the  Greeks.  Cf.  Gulshan  i mz,  1.  194:  "The  Truth,  as  amber, 
attracts  thee  like  a straw."® 

3.  N.  and  W.  read  chiin  murdah  shavam^  and  C.  and  L.  read  chun  fawt 
shavam,^  which  mean  the  same.  B.  ii.  is  identical  with  this. 


70. 

This  quatrain  occurs  only  in  this  MS.  (of  those  under  consideration).  It  is 
probably  a casually  interpolated  address  to  Malik  Shah. 


(^)  oy?  (®)  (^)  S (^) 

olsi  ^1  ^y>  JO  1©!^ 


(6) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


187 


^Lc.  J^ 

n=i 

j--!^  (*^3  j^j> 

[r;j«2  ,j5>^ 

LttJk ^ li  j* J)^ 

V 

xSj^  bblis 

oij  s—'  y y^-  'yy 

35 

thou  art  not  treasure,^  0 heedless  dunce,®  that  thee 
they  hide  in  the  earth  and  then  dig  up  again. 

69. 

Take  heed^  to  stay  me  with  the  wine-cup, 
and  make  this  amber  face*  like  a ruby; 
when  I die,®  wash  me  with  wine, 

and  out  of  the  wood  of  the  vine  make  the  planks  of  my  coffin. 


> y J ' / ' ’ 

a yy'y 


V V •' 


y-r.-y 


wyt 


jUli 


70. 

O Shah ! destiny  appointed  thee  to  sovereignty, 
and  saddled  for  thee  the  horse  of  empire ; 


i88 


Notes 


r.  ta  in  lins  3,  and  ita-nihad  inline  4,  go  together.  Literally,  " until  he  did 
not  place.” 


71. 

This  quatrain  is  P.  119.  B.  ii  208,  L.  294,  S.  P.  164,  B.  290.  N 164,  W. 
1S2,  and  is  No.  3 of  de  T.’s  examples.  C/.  M.,  1 3316  : 

The  true  lover  must  be  like  fire  . . . 

There  can  be  no  second  thoughts  to  the  true  lover ; etc.  1 

1.  Literally,  "it  has  no  water.”  One  of  the  many  figurative  uses  of  ah. 
"It  has  no  splendour,"  vulgarly  speaking,  cf.  "it  doesn't  hold  water."  Cf. 
M.,  1.  1749  : " I am  helpless,"  literally,  " My  liver  holds  no  water. 

2.  khabish  ; the  third  pers.  sing,  termination  sh  governs  all  the  antecedents. 

3.  Cf.  M.,  1.  3167 : " Can  he  who  shares  the  torment  and  passion  of  love 
find  rest  by  day  or  night?  Cf.  also  M.,  11  3499-3509,  the  story  of  "The 
Sleepy  Lover,"  and  Purgatorio,  xviii.'io3;  " Ratto,  ratto,  che  il  tempo  non  si 
perda  per  poco  amor." 


72. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  176.  B.  ii.  211,  L.  357,  S.  P.  175,  B.  353,  N.  175,  and  W. 
igo.  In  It  we  recognise  the  sentiment  of  F.  v.  27  (concerning  which,  however 
post,  q.  121),  and  also  F.  v.  32 : 

There  was  the  Door  to  which  I found  no  Key  ; 

There  was  the  Veil  through  which  I might  not  see ; etc. 

Compare  Tennyson’s  lines  in  "In  Memoriam"  : 

So  runs  my  dream,  but  what  am  I ? 

An  infant  crying  in  the  night ; 

An  infant  crying  for  the  light, 

And  with  no  language  but  a cry. 

I.  tc.^  the  orbit  of  human  understanding. 


^ 0;lu>  ^3^  6^  yc>  (3) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


189 


V\ 

T L^_)  Is-^ 

J)jyj  c.,.^  j JLo  dS"  lVjIj 

vl^  fbTi 

vt* 

(jU^  bj-)^  (j^ 

^^yiA  \j^‘^ 

when  thy  golden-hoofed  charger  moved/ 

setting  foot  upon  the  clay,  the  earth  became  gilded. 


}[^\j 


^ b'  **.§ 
/ 


36 


71* 

A love  that  is  imaginary  has  no  value 
like  a fire  half-dead,  it  gives  no  heat. 

A true  lover,  throughout  the  month,  and  year,  and  night,  and  day/ 
takes  neither  rest,  nor  peace,  nor  food,  nor  sleep.^ 


72. 

No  one  has  solved  the  tangled  secrets  of  eternity, 
no  one  has  set  foot  beyond  the  orbit, ^ 


igo 


Notes 


2 Literally,  " when  I look.”  C..  B.  ii.,  L.,  N.,  and  W.  read  man  ml-nigaram} 
"I  see.” 

3.  Literally,  ''impotence  is  in  the  hand  of,”  etc.  Cf.  Faradiso,  vii.  62: 
" Molto  si  mira  e poco  si  discerne.” 


73- 

This  quatrain  is  C.  179,  L.  256,  S.  P.  176,  B.  253,  N.  176,  W.  191,  and  we 
find  in  it  the  germ  of  F.  v.  41,  which  made  its  first  appearance  as  F.  ii.  55. 

Perplext  no  more  with  Human  or  Divine, 

To-morrow’s  tangle  to  the  winds  resign, 

And  lose  your  fingers  in  the  tresses  of 
The  Cypress-slender  Minister  of  Wine. 

Cf.  Paradise,  xv.  146  : ” il  mondo  fallace  il  cui  amor  molte  anime  deturpa.” 

I.  N.  and  W.,  for*' live  thou,”  read  "that  thou  mayst  be.”®  L.  reads 
jehan  hemiri,^ ''  worldly  empire." 

3.  Vide  the  original  MS.  The  transcription  of  this  word  is  doubtful,  but 
the  best  sense  is  made  with  hegusil.  C.,  L.,  N.,  and  W.  so  read  it,  and  I have  so 
transcribed  it. 

3.  This  line  varies  considerably  in  the  texts.  N.  and  W.  read  "Be  happy 
in  that  thou  art  (for)  this  revolving  sky.”^  C.  reads  "Be  happy,  for  bereft  of  me 
and  thee,  these  months  and  years.” ^ L.  reads  "Be  happy  a moment,  inasmuch 
as  this  revolving  sky.”  0 

4.  C.  and  L.  follow  this  MS,  N.  and  W.  for  " days”  read  " revolutions.” ^ 


74* 

This  quatrain  occurs  only  in  this  MS.,  and  is  reproduced  as  W.  211,  and  this 
and  q.  82  contain  that  flower-sentiment  which  one  traces  in  F.  v.  40,  which  made 
its  first  appearance  in  a slightly  modified  form  as  F.  ii.  43. 

I.  nestrm  has  many  flower-meanings;  one  finds  it  used  to  mean  narcissus 
principally,  but  also  dog-rose,  white  rose,  and  clover. 


(4^  (2^  rj^  tiT*  0) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


igr 


^viL«  d^jSi  i^  *..s<8i>Xj  * **  ^ 


c/f*^ 

<5j  L/*^ 

lUi^  1^1  (vfc 


V{= 


since,  so  far  as  I can  see,®  from  tyro  to  teacher, 
impotent  are  the  hands®  of  all  men  born  of  woman. 

73- 

Set  limits  to  thy  desire  for  worldly  things  and  live"-  content, 
sever®  the  bonds  of  thy  dependence  upon  the  good  and  bad  of  life, 
take  wine  in  hand  and  play  with  the  curls  of  a loved  one ; for 
quickly  ® 

all  passeth  away — and  how  many  of  these  days*  remain? 

74- 

The  heavens  rain  down  blossoms*  from  the  clouds, 
thou  mayest  say  that  they  shed  blossoms  into  the  garden ; 


J/ 1>  Cj 


I •/  f 


37 


Notes 


ig2 


2.  W.  reads  this  to  mean  a violet  jug,  but  I fail  to  find  his  authority. 


75- 

This  quatrain  is  C.  202,  P.  324,  B.  ii  234,  L.  356,  S.  P.  1S2,  B.  352,  N.  182, 
and  W.  197.  It  contains  a humorous  protest  against  the  doctrine  of  predesti- 
nation, whose  highest  expression  we  find  in  F.  v.  80.  There  is  also  here  a strong 
suggestion  of  F.  v.  61,  which  made  its  first  appearance  as  F.  ii.  63. 

Why,  be  this  Juice  the  growth  of  God,  who  dare 

Blaspheme  the  twisted  tendril  as  a Snare? 

A Blessing,  we  should  use  it,  should  we  not  ? 

And  if  a Curse — why,  then,  Who  set  it  there  ? 

r.  j 5.,  " sensible." 

2.  N.  and  W.  for  man  hinazci  read  u nazi-i-hhuda}  that  (wine-drinking  of 
mine),  etc. 

3.  With  the  exception  of  B.  ii.  the  other  texts  read  az  azal,^  from  earliest 
eternity,  for  hi  azal,  on  the  Day  of  Creation.  Concerning  azal,  vide  post,  q.  107, 
note  I. 


76. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  173,  P.  189,  B.  ii.  233,  D.  315,  B.  311,  and  is  No.  g of 
de  T.’s  examples.  We  find  in  it  the  idea  conveyed  by  F.  v.  24 ; 

Ah ! make  the  most  of  what  we  yet  may  spend. 

Before  we,  too,  into  the  Dust  descend; 

Dust  into  Dust,  and  under  Dust  to  lie, 

Sans  Wine,  sans  Song,  sans  Singer,  and — sans  End. 

Compare  Herrick’s  verse  " To  Sappho,”  which  might  also  be  appended  as  a 
parallel  to  qq  5,  35,  73  and  97 : 

" Let  us  now  take  time  and  play. 

Love  and  live  here  while  we  may  ; 

Drink  rich  wine ; and  make  good  cheere, 

While  we  have  our  being  here : 

For  once  dead,  and  laid  i’th  grave, 

No  return  from  thence  we  have.” 


Jjl  jl  (2)  10=.  y (1) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


193 


'^y~J  ASuio  ji\  ^ 

VO 

i3*' 

'^y.  '^yj  cT* 
t5=‘  cT* 

'^y  d^  (*-^>^  j-^ 

VI 

Cjsjk^U.^  6^ 

^ J Si—^  5^lX-3  1^ 

38 

in  a lily-like  cup  I pour  rosy  wine, 
as  the  violet  clouds  ^ pour  down  jessamine. 

75- 

I drink  wine,  and  every  one  drinks  who  like  me  is  worthy  of  it ; ‘ 
my  wine-drinking  is  but  a small  thing  to  Him  ; ^ 

God  knew,  on  the  Day  of  Creation,®  that  I should  drink  wine  ; 
if  I do  not  drink  wine,  God’s  knowledge  was  ignorance. 

76. 

Do  not  allow  sorrow  to  embrace  thee, 
nor  an  idle  grief  to  occupy  thy  days ; 


194 


Notes 


I.  Vide  q.  32,  note  2,  and  compare  also  q.  45.  Line  3 in  L.  reads,  "Drink 
wine!  on  the  verge  of  the  verdure  and  of  the  flowing  stream." ^ P.  reads,  "For- 
sake not,  for  a moment,  the  bank  of  the  river  and  the  margin  of  the  stream."® 
B,  ii.  combines  these  two  readings.  ® 

77- 

This  quatrain  is  C.  165,  P.  283,  L.  305,  B.  301,  S.  P.  179,  N.  179,  W.  194, 
and  is  the  original  of  F.  v.  59 : 

The  Grape  that  can  with  Logic  absolute 
The  Two-and-seventy  jarring  Sects  confute ; 

The  sovereign  Alchemist  that  in  a trice 
Life’s  leaden  metal  into  Gold  transmute. 

1.  Literally,  "bear  away."  P.  reads,  " the  calamities  of  time."^ 

2.  i.e.,  wine, 

3.  Literally,  "you  drink." 

4.  P.,  N.,  and  W.  read,  yeh  one  measure.  As  to  men,  vide  q.  155,  note  2. 

78. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  174,  P.  282,  B.  ii.  228,  L.  243,  S.  P.  180,  B.  240,  N.  180, 
W.  193.  Compare  Herrick’s  verse  : 

"...  I love  to  have  it  smirke  and  shine, 

'Tis  sin  I know,  'tis  sin  to  throtle  Wine. 

What  Mad-man’s  he,  that  when  it  sparkles  so, 

Will  code  his  flames,  or  quench  his  fires  with  snow  ? " 


(®)  (*)  0\yj  s^T  j ^ (1) 

j ^ (5) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


195 


^yS  -SJlc:^ 


VV 


ca  »iL*w  ^J)  dS" 

tiM 

JjJ  «.a^  jJj  jLaJLS) 

yj>^  ^ ij-^^  3**^. 

ij^)-jj  uuvl©- 


VA 

a;^  d^Uf  4a> — .1^  ^ 

dS"  Ij  j]jJLm  esl^T 

39 

forsake  not  the  book,  and  the  lover’s  lips,  and  the  green  bank 
of  the  field, ^ 

ere  that  the  earth  enfold  thee  in  its  bosom. 

77- 

Drink  wine,  that  will  banish^  thy  abundant  woes, 

and  will  banish  thought  of  the  Seventy-two  Sects ; 

avoid  not  the  alchemist,^  for,  from  him, 

thou  takest®  one  draught,^  and  he  banishes  a thousand  calamities. 

78. 

Even  though  wine  is  forbidden,  for  all  that  it  depends  upon  who 
drinks  it, 

and  then  in  what  quantity,  and  also  with  whom  he  drinks  it ; 


196 


Notes 


1.  This  line  varies  very  much  in  the  texts.  C.  and  P.  and  B.  ii.,  slightly 
varying,  read,  "Whenever  you  have  collected  these  four  conditions  L.  is  the 
same,  substituting  dn-gah^  for  har  gdh.  N.  ends  the  line  miad  jam\^  "are 
collected." 

2.  In  L.  the  fourth  line  is  the  second  repeated.  In  B.  ii.  and  N.  this 
line  reads,  "After  that  who  would  drink  save  wise  men."  ^ 


79- 

This  quatrain  is  P.  281,  B.  ii.  227,  L.  293,  B.  289,  and  is  not  elsewhere. 
It  recalls  the  lines  in  the  Gulistan  (ch  i,  story  2) : 

"Many  famous  men  have  been  buried  underground, 

Of  whose  existence  upon  earth  not  a trace  has  remained, 

And  that  old  corpse  which  had  been  surrendered  to  the  earth 
Was  so  consumed  by  the  soil  that  not  a bone  remains."  ^ 

1.  Note  the  double  preposition  hi-khdk  day,  etc. 

2.  L.  reads  hhumrah  ^ a synonym. 

3 L.  reads  existence. 


80. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  204,  P.  157,  L.  272,  S.  P.  186,  B.  268,  N.  186,  and  W.  201, 
and  has  been  referred  to  as  one  of  the  originals  of  F.  v.  4,  in  the  notes  to 
q.  13,  a7ite. 

1.  Literally,  " zephyrs."  C.,  L.,  N.,  and  W.  read  sebzah,'^  verdure. 

2.  This  is  line  4 in  the  other  texts,  and  varies  considerably.  C.  reads,  "In^ 

the  eyes  of  the  clouds  (0;',  in  hope  of  rain)  the  veils  are  parted."  ^ L.,  N.,  and  P. 

read  dida,^  synonym  for  chashm-ha.  The  use  of  the  word  chashni,  meaning 
"hopes"  and  "eyes,"  imparts  obscurity  to  this  line.  L.  and  N.  make  their 
meaning  clear. 


cs^  (^)  (^)  Kr**  j*  (^) 

oil  ^^o  jij  sS  jy»\i  ^ 

OiUi  0^^  ^ 

jij  tA>o  ^ 

oiUi 

aOJO  O.A>L£h^  Ui80^  (^)  (^) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


197 


I3 1 ij  ^ L-T^* 


V^ 


ti:-^  dS*  ^ 
J|^  d)U  j-d,  c^li=^ 

A* 


jjjLfcXj  1.^.4.ao^  t^Ls-s 


V/X 

/l<> 


JU'j 


i5 

V V 

r**  -/- 


)6>\t 


• * M ** 

A 


40 


these  three  conditiohs  being  as  they  should  be ; say ! ^ 
who  drinks  wine  if  a wise  man  does  not  do  so  ? ^ 


79- 

Drink  wine,  for  thy  body  becomes  atoms  in  the  earth, ^ 
thine  earth,  after  that,  becomes  goblets  and  jars ; ^ 
be  thou  heedless  of  hell  and  heaven, 

why  should  a wise  man  be  deceived  about  such  things?* 


80. 


Now  is  the  time  when  by  the  spring-breezes^  the  world  is 
adorned, 

and  in  hope  of  rain  it  opens  its  eyes,® 


IS 


Notes 


198 


3.  C.,  L,  N.,  and  W.  for  “liands'’  read  saftan  i.e.,  " Moses-ZiAi?,”  so 
that  retains  its  commoner  meaning,  *’  hand  ” This  is  line  2 in  the  other  texts. 

4.  A0/ means  froth,  or  white  scum,  as  well  as  " the  palm  of  the  hand,”  and 
in  this  MS.  seems  to  require  the  former  meaning.  Sed  qu<en. 

5.  Compare  the  passage  in  Sa’adi’s  "Badiya”  : “It  is  the  breath  of  Jesus, 
for  in  that  fresh  breath  and  verdure  the  dead  earth  is  reviving.” 

6.  This  probably  refers  to  what  is  known  in  eastern  and  southern  Europe 
as  the  "arbre  de  Judee,”  or  Judas  tree,  which  suddenly  breaks  out  in  early 
spring  in  an  eruption  of  pink  or  white  blossom,  like  the  almond,  rather  than  the 
hawthorn  as  suggested  by  Fitzgerald.  Compare  Binning,  vol.  ii.,  p.  223. 

81. 

This  quatrain  is  C i8q,  P.  231,  B.  ii  241,  L.  367,  B.  363,  S.  P.  1S8,  N.  188, 
and  W.  203,  and  the  first  two  lines  suggested  F.  v.  39,  that  made  its  first 
appearance  as  F ii.  42  in  a slightly  varied  form  ; 

And  not  a drop  that  from  our  Cups  we  throw 
For  Earth  to  drink  of,  but  may  steal  below 
To  quench  the  fire  of  Anguish  in  some  eye 
There  hidden — far  beneath,  and  long  ago. 

In  line  4 we  get  the  suggestion  for  F.  v.  60,  where  he  describes  wine  as 
The  mighty  Mahmud,  Allah-breathing  Lord, 

That  all  the  misbelieving  and  black  Horde 
Of  Fears  and  Sorrows  that  infest  the  Soul, 

Scatters  before  him  with  his  whirlwind  Sword. 

In  F.  I a note  is  appended  to  the  effect  that  this  refers  to  Mahmoud  the 
Gaznavi,  who  conquered  India,  which  was  peopled  by  swarthy  idolaters.  Fitz- 
Gerald took  the  imagery  of  this  quatrain  as  a whole  from  a story  in  M. 
(11. 3117-3138), 

1.  N.  and  W.  for  he-khak  read  ^ = reading  “pours  into  the  cup,” 

which  robs  the  distich  of  much  of  its  poetic  force.  I cannot  trace  their  authority 
in  the  MSS.  As  to  the  custom  of  throwing  a little  wine  upon  the  earth,  like  the 
Greek  libation,  before  drinking,  see  F.’s  note.  F.  had  also  before  him  C.  296 
(N.  247,  W.  286,  and  not  in  this  MS.),  whose  last  two  lines  read  : “ If  your  hand 
holds  a cup  of  ruby  wine,  spill  one  drop  and  drink  to  the  dregs.”  ^ 

2.  C.  reads  “in  the  eye  of  someone,”^  and  B.  ii.  and  L.  “in  my  eye.” 
C/.  M , 1 2342  (Terminal  Essay,  p.  312  ) 

3.  poetic  form,  variation  of  hMeh  ~ wine. 

82. 

This  quatrain  is  only  to  be  found  in  the  Paris  MS.,  where  it  is  152,  at  B.  ii.  244, 
and  in  L , where  it  is  271  (B.  267),  and  whence  it  was  reproduced  as  W.  210, 
and  in  the  opening  lines  of  this  and  q 74  we  find  the  echo  of  the  opening  lines  of 
F.  40: 

As  then  the  Tulip  for  her  morning  sup 
Of  Heav'nly  vintage  from  the  soil  looks  up,  etc. 

I.  Literally,  “the  face  of  the  tulip  holds  the  dew.”  Compare  Hafiz: 
“ The  dewdrops  trickle  over  the  faces  of  the  tulips  ” and,  again,  “ Come,  Saki, 
for  the  cup  of  the  tulip  is  full  of  wine.”  ® 

OJBO  j)  0 

U>^ 

A ^ ^ (®)  fiJil  ^ aJiA  (s) 


(1) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


199 


.Uaj  I— ^Iss  p 

'WT  — 03 


M 


iX)  Lw»ij  ^y~~^  &1XJ1J  ^*j 

Lib  ^ aU  1 ^l. I 

wij  L-Jt)^  j-o^ 


(XCuJL; 


41 


the  hands  ^ of  Moses  appear  like  froth  ^ upon  the  boug-h/' 
the  breath  of  Jesus  comes  forth  from  the  earth."' 


81. 

Every  draught  that  the  Cup-bearer  scatters  upon  the  earth  ^ 
quenches  the  fire  of  anguish  in  some  afflicted  eye.^ 

Praise  be  to  God!  thou  realizest  that  wine^ 

is  a juice  that  frees  thy  heart  from  a hundred  pains. 


82, 

Every  morning  the  dew  bedecks  the  faces  of  the  tulips,^ 
the  crests  of  the  violets  in  the  garden  are  bent  downward ; 

15—2 


200 


Notes 


2.  Literally,  " from  the  rosebud  pleasure  comes  to  me  ” 

. i e.,  whose  petals  are  closed.”  W.,  copying  L , begins  the  line,  “ (Even) 
it  gathers,”  etc  , which  is  better  than  this  k\ip‘  which  is  a contraction  of  M 


83 

Nota. — The  first  line  of  83  is  line  i of  W.  205,  the  rest  of  which  is  84,  and  vice  versd. 

„ „ 84  M W.  234  ,,  M 83 

This  quatrain  is  only  to  be  found  in  this  M S , whence  it  became  W.  234. 
This  and  84  are  the  originals  of  F.  v.  loi,  which  varied  in  all  the  editions.  F.  v., 
however,  is  as  good  as  any,  for  us : 

And  when  like  her,  oh  Saki,  you  shall  pass 
Among  the  Guests  Star-scattered  on  the  Grass, 

And  in  your  joyous  errand  reach  the  Spot 
Where  I made  One — turn  down  an  empty  Glass. 

The  first  two  lines  come  more  especially  from  q.  84. 


84. 

This  quatrain  is  P.  226,  B.  ii.  245,  L 290  (as  here),  S.  P.  191,  B.  286, 
N.  192,  and  W.  205  (with  line  i of  W.  234).  Here  again  we  remark  the 
coincidence  of  two  apparently  connected  quatrains  coming  together  in  a diwan 
arrangement. 


/ e)  / (^) 


y (’) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


201 


dss-!x>  j ]j^  t-s  Uqj  I 

Ar 

Jww_^  ^Ujo  j^LAjLj 

^ l^n,%sJ  ^i”  ^1  ^ lXJ  Ij 

^ \ „o  0 Ij 

^ lw,j LkJ  c:;^^ 

AP 

^ L-*u.^ 


verily,  most  pleasing  to  me  is  the  rosebud^ 
which  gathers  its  skirts  close  around  itself.^ 

83. 

Friends,  when  ye  hold  a meeting  together, 
it  behoves  ye  warmly  to  remember  your  friend ; 
when  ye  drink  wholesome  wine  together, 
and  my  turn  comes,  turn  a goblet  upside  down. 

84. 

Friends,  when  with  consent  ye  make  a tryst  together, 
and  take  delight  in  one  another’s  charms, 


202 


Notes 


I  viughanah  means  anything  connected  with  the  Mughs  or  Magians  (t.c., 
the  Guebres,  or  Fire-worshippers),  and  came  to  be  a synonym  for  age,  superiority, 
excellence,  in  which  sense  it  is  used  here.  S.  Rousseau  has  a very  interesting 
note  upon  the  history  of  this  word  at  p.  176  of  his  ‘'Flowers  of  Persian  Literature  ” 
(London,  1801) 

2.  dii'a  means  here  the  invocation,  or  salutation  before  drinking.  (C/. 
"Your  health!  ” and  " toasts  ” in  general.) 


S5.  , 

In  this  identical  form  this  quatrain  is  not  in  any  of  the  texts  under  con- 
sideration ; but  in  a more  or  less  varied  form  it  is  C.  171,  P.  332,  L.  310,  S.  P.  193, 
and  N 194  A quatrain  identical  in  sentiment,  but  quite  different  in  expression,  is 
C.  221,  B.  li  143,  L 389,  and  N.  191,  and  I do  not  find  either  of  these  in  W. 
Compare  q.  139 

I.  C , P , and  L.  read  this  line,  " One  Cup  is  worth  a thousand  men  and 
their  religions.^  dil-u-din  = " heart  and  faith,”  is  a common  Eastern  phrase.  Cf. 
M , 1.  1707,  " the  value  of  an  hundred  lives.”  ^ 

2 Whether  the  scribes  who  made  my  copies  of  C.  and  P.  erred  or  not, 
I cannot  tell,  but  they  read  niemleket  chwwi^  "(a  thousand)  such  empires” 
Perhaps  the  nun  is  interpolated.  Sed  qucevct  it  being  in  both  MSS 

3 In  C , L , and  N.  this  line  reads,  " What  is  there  on  the  face  of  earth 
sweeter  than  wine  ”•> 


86 

This  quatrain  is  P,  20,  B ii.  250,  B.  410,  and  W.  256,  taken  from  this 
and  L.  414.  The  first  line  of  L.  is  the  second  of  this,  the  second  of  L,  being 
the  first  of  this  slightly  altered. 

I L reads,  "Sever  thyself  from  the  bonds  of  wife  and  children.”^  C/. 
Gidshcm  i mz,  11.  944-956,  an  absolutely  identical  passage  Also  Qur'an,  ch.  64, 
V.  15 . " Oh  ye  believers  ! your  wives  and  children  are  nothing  but  dangerous 
enemies  to  you,  against  which  ye  must  be  on  your  guard  ” (P.N.,  p.  229). 


(*)  (3)  ojjjl  I4  j\jA  eb  (1) 

c*5i*  ^ ) y 0 


Transcript  and  Translation 


203 


^\l  Li:>jvJ  I^A-i 
A6 

|.U,  «^, 

J ))J  1 ^££>js^  tSAj 

(3*^  Sjb  >^ 

O^Xs**  >?'>*  ^ S5^ 

An 

'^jy  i>  ii)j>  J>' 

when  the  Cup-bearer  takes  round  in  his  hand  the  Mugh^  wine, 
remember  a certain  helpless  one  in  your  benediction.^ 

85- 

One  cup  of  wine  is  worth  a hundred  hearts  and  religions,^ 
one  draught  of  wine  is  worth  the  empire  of  China, ^ 
saving  ruby  wine  there  is  not,  on  the  face  of  earth,® 
any  acrid  thing  that  is  worth  a thousand  sweet  souls. 


86. 

If  thou  desirest  Him,  be  separated  from  wife  and  children, 
bravely  move  thine  abode  from  thy  relations  and  friends;^ 


204 


Notes 


2 L.  uses  the  word  sadd-i-yah'^  for  band-i-yilh  Compare  New  Testament 
(Matthew  xix.  21,  et  passim)  " If  thou  wouldst  be  perfect,  go,  sell  that  thou  hast 
and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven  ” 


87. 

This  quatrain  is  B ii.  258,  L.  403,  S.  P 202,  B.  399,  N.  203,  and  E.C.  9 

I cTjfida,  which  means  “free,  noble,  venerable,"  is  often  used  in  poetry  to 
mean  the  lily,  and  also  the  c3rpress,  which  is  quite  within  the  sentiment  of  the 
poem. 

2.  a' Cclim-i-khah  means  equally  the  earth  or  the  human  body,  L.  and  N, 
read,  “ since  thou  knowest  that  all  creatures  are  earth."  ^ 

3 N.  reads,  “that  passes  in  two  days,"^  One  may  compare  these  lines 
with  the  Gulistan  (Introduction) : 

“The  intention  of  this  design  was  that  it  should  survive, 

Because  I see  no  stability  in  my  existence."^ 

Cf.  Vita  Nuova,  xxiii  : “ frale  vita,  '1  suo  durar  com’  e leggiero ! " 


88. 

I have  not  found  this  quatrain  in  any  of  the  texts  under  consideration.  It 
contains  something  of  the  sentiment  of  F.  v.  60,  quoted  snh  q.  Si. 


uiU  jl?  L#  ^ (^) 


(^) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


205 


AV 


(5JLo  JJ 

SJ1_;T  ■fS>  ^ ^T 

oy^ 

^ l^j  is  ^ Ij  Ji^ ijs^j  ^y'y  ^ ♦»  ^ ^ 


AA 

;Lj  >.±S^  Jj  ^^1  ^^1^J  j jj 

jLffj  Sab  ^T 

44 

whatever  is,  is  an  hindrance^  on  the  road  for  thee, 

how  canst  thou  journey  with  these  hindrances? — remove  them ! 

87. 

Bring  me  that  ruby  in  a clear  glass, 

bring  me  that  companion  and  intimate  of  all  excellent  people : ^ 
since  thou  knowest  that  the  duration  of  this  earthly  world  ^ 
is  a wind  that  quickly  passes  by,® — bring  me  wine. 

88. 

Arise ! bring  physic  to  this  oppressed  heart, 
bring  that  musk-scented  and  rose-coloured  wine  ; 


y >* 


:Jy  ^ 


JU'j 


L-  /•( , y ‘ , r 

J ^ ! 


J l^h 


* J^y 


206 


N otes 


I.  Literally,  " the  ingredients  of  the  antidote.”  It  is  interesting  to  note  that 
Steingass  defines  mufarrik  “ a species  of  exhilarating  medicine  in  which  rubies  are 
an  ingredient  ” ; this  accords  with  line  4,  and  the  whole  sentiment  of  Omar. 


89, 

This  quatrain  is  C.  261,  P.  100,  B.  ii.  274,  L.  411,  S.  P.  210,  B.  407,  N 211, 
and  W.  252.  Compare  with  it  q.  66.  and  also  q.  146.  It  is  the  original  of 
F,  V.  37,  the  first  version  of  which,  F i.  36,  is  even  closer  to  the  Persian : 

For  in  the  Market-place  one  Dusk  of  Day 
I watch'd  the  Potter  thumping  his  wet  clay: 

And  with  its  all  obliterated  Tongue 
It  murmur’d  "Gently,  Brother,  gently,  pray!” 

F.  in  his  note  tells  the  story  told  by  the  Taj-i-dar  in  the  Mantik-ut-tair  of 
Ferid-ud-din  ’Attar  of  the  prophet  who  found  that  the  same  spring  water  that  was 
sweet  in  itself  became  bitter  in  an  earthenware  cup.  (M.,  11.  2345-2359.)  To 
whom  the  cup  spoke  as  follows  : 

The  Clay  that  I am  made  of,  once  was  Man, 

Who  dying,  and  resolved  into  the  same 
Obliterated  Earth,  from  which  he  came 
Was  for  the  Potter  dug,  and  chased  in  turn 
Through  long  vicissitude  of  Bowl  and  Urn : 

But  howsoever  moulded,  still  the  pain 
Of  that  first  mortal  Anguish  would  retain, 

And  cast  and  re-cast,  for  a Thousand  years 
Would  turn  the  sweetest  Water  into  Tears. 

Fitzgerald's  Translation^  L.  R.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  467 

1.  N.  for  "fresh”  reads  ••  tdnk"^  ^ 3,  heap  or  lump.  L.  reads  pdrah'^  - 3, 

piece. 

2.  Vide  note  3,  q.  66. 

3.  L for  " well  ” reads  = reverently 


90. 

I find  this  quatrain  only  in  P.  266.  S.  P.  196,  and  N.  196,  which  are  identical 
with  it. 


cs-i/  e)  e)  (>) 


Tmnscvipt  and  Translation 


207 


cA* 

^1_)Ij  __jjj| 

s?^  ^ 

=i. 

ta.w.Jlj^la,  taal^  ^1^ 

^^Sti  « f »,«><..  1 \j  “s  cdiA  jJ  d4 1—* 

if  thou  desirest  the  elements  ^ of  sorrow’s  antidote, 
bring  ruby  wine  and  the  silk  stringed  lute. 

89. 

I saw  a potter  in  the  bazaar  yesterday, 
he  was  violently  pounding  the  fresh’  clay, 
and  that  clay  said  to  him,  in  mystic  language,® 

“I  was  once  like  thee — so  treat  me  well.”® 

90. 

Drink  of  that  wine  that  is  eternal  life, 

it  is  the  stock-in-trade  of  youthful  pleasure,  drink ! 


205 


Notes 


gr. 

This  quatrain  is  C 260,  B.  ii  275,  L.  410,  S.  P igg,  B.  406,  N 200,  and 
W 244  All  vary  more  or  less  In  L.  lines  2 and  4 are  transposed.  Cf.  Qur’an 
ii.  172-  "There  is  no  piety  in  turning  your  faces  to  the  east  or  west,  but  he  is 
pious  who  believeth  in  God  . . . and  disburseth  his  wealth  to  the  needy.” 
Cf.  Dante,  Convito,  iv  28  : " Iddio  non  vuole  religioso  di  noi  se  non  il  cuore.” 

I.  The  sicnnat  are  the  Traditions  of  Muhammad  supplementing  the  Qur’an, 
and  held  in  almost  equal  reverence 

2 The  farlzat  are  the  ordinances  of  God.  Therefore  the  word  haUkf 
which  in  the  other  texts  takes  the  place  of  the  objective  m,  is  pleonastic.  N reads 
the  line,  " Of  religious  exercises  perform  (only)  those  commanded  by  God.”  2 

3 Literally,  " mouthful,”  i.e.,  share  your  goods  with  others. 

4 N.  and  W.  read,  " and  do  not  seek  to  afflict  anyone  ”3  c reads,  ” and 
do  not  afflict  (your)  fellow-mortals.” ^ In  B.  ii.  and  L.  the  line  reads,  "Do  not 
make  designs  upon  the  life  or  property  of  anyone.”  ^ 

5.  W.  for  day  'nhda  reads  hm  wa'da,^  a synonym  implying  obligation. 

6.  Compare  P.N.  chap.  55  : " Offer  to  the  poor,  oh  my  son,  a portion  of 
what  thou  possessest,  whether  thy  possessions  be  small  or  great. 


92. 

I do  not  find  this  quatrain  in  C , P , L.,  S.  P.,  N.,  or  W.,  but  it  is  B.  ii. 
280  identically. 

1.  magar  expresses  doubt,  and  answers  to  the  phrase  " sed  qitave." 

2.  i.e.,  the  Cup. 


<3^  i (*)  jDT  Lr~^  i (*)  jl'jS;  ’“i.iiji  ’ivxeU,  j|  (2)  (1) 

^ (0)  ^ ^ ^ 

IlsCilj  ,.1*1=  ^ (7) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


209 


i ) <11**  1 T is 

r * *sr 

J U«j[i 
•• 

m ^ 

* vj, 

^ * ' 1 , r* 

V D }}  Lf^ 

=ir 

• * 

.:^l3  J*3 

it  burns  like  fire,  but  sorrows 

46 

it  makes  like  the  water  of  life — drink ! 

91- 

Follow  not  the  Traditions/  and  leave  alone  the  Commands/ 
withhold  not  from  anyone  the  morsel^  that  thou  possessest:^ 
neither  slander,  nor  afflict  the  heart  of  anyone,^ 

I guarantee  you  ^ the  world  beyond — bring  wine  ! 

92- 

Wine  is  rose-red,  and  the  cup  is  filled  with  the  water  of  roses, 
— maybe,^ 

in  the  crystal  casket^  is  a pure  ruby, — maybe, 


210 


Notes 


93- 

This  also  I do  not  find  in  the  texts  under  consideration,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  B.  ii  , where  it  is  No.  283.  It  contains  the  inspiration  of  F.  v.  93-4 ; 

Indeed  the  Idols  I have  loved  so  long 

Have  done  my  credit  in  this  World  much  wrong : 

Have  drown’d  my  Glory  in  a shallow  Cup, 

And  sold  my  reputation  for  a Song. 

Indeed,  indeed,  Repentance  oft  before 
I swore — but  was  I sober  when  I swore  ’ 

I.  Compare  Hafiz;  “ Let  us  break  again  our  vows  of  repentance  in  the  midst 
of  the  roses  And  also  the  passage  which  occurs  in  his  first  ode;  “All  my 
actions,  the  outcome  of  my  desire  to  satisfy  my  yearnings,  have  dragged  me  down 
to  an  evil  reputation.  ”‘- 


94 

This  quatrain  is  C.  280,  P.  31,  B.  ii.  291,  L.  443,  S.  P.  230,  B.  439,  N 231, 
W.  270,  and  is  No.  27  of  E.  C.’s  specimens.  It  is  the  original  of  F v.  69  . 

But  helpless  Pieces  of  the  Game  He  plays 
Upon  this  Chequer-board  of  Nights  and  Days  ; 

Hither  and  thither  moves,  and  checks,  and  slays, 

And  one  by  one  back  in  the  Closet  lays. 

The  first  two  lines  in  F,  i.  49  read  : 

’Tis  all  a Chequer-board  of  Nights  and  Days 
Where  Destiny  with  Men  for  Pieces  plays. 

In  all  the  other  texts  under  consideration,  except  the  Paris  MS.  and  B.  ii., 
the  first  two  lines  are  transposed.  Vide  note  to  q.  108,  post. 

I.  Literally,  “In  the  manner  of  truth,  and  not  in  the  manner  of 
metaphor.” 


Transcript  and  Translation 


211 


a melted  ruby  is  in  the  water, — maybe, 
moonlight  is  the  veil  of  the  sun, — maybe. 


93* 

Every  vow  we  make,  we  break  again, ^ 

we  shut  once  more  upon  ourselves  the  door  of  fame  and 
fair  repute  ; 

blame  me  not  if  I act  as  a fool, 

for  once  more  am  I drunken  with  the  wine  of  love. 

94- 

To  speak  plain  language,  and  not  in  parables,^ 
we  are  the  pieces  and  heaven  plays  the  game, 


212 


Notes 


95 

This  quatrain  is  P.  59,  B.  ii.  292,  L.  430,  S.  P.  215,  B 426,  N.  216,  and  W.  257. 
Together  with  q.  54  v , ante),  it  supplied  the  inspiration  for  F.  v.  71  and  9S  : 

The  Moving  Finger  writes  ; and,  having  writ, 

Moves  on  ; nor  all  your  Piety  nor  Wit 
Shall  lure  it  back  to  cancel  half  a Line, 

Nor  all  your  Tears  wash  out  a Word  of  it. 

Would  but  some  wingM  Angel,  ere  too  late, 

Arrest  the  yet  unfolded  Roll  of  Fate, 

And  make  the  stern  Recorder  otherwise 
Enregister,  or  quite  obliterate! 

1.  P.,  N.,  and  W.  read,  “Why  grieve  so  much  about  this  protracted 
affliction."^  B.  ii,  presents  a slight  variant  compounded  of  both  readings. 

2.  P.,  L.,  N,,  and  W.  read  “suffering"^  for  “the  times’’ 

3.  Vide  note  i,  q.  15,  ante. 

4.  Literally,  “does  not  come  back." 


96. 

This  quatrain  is  P.  264,  B ii,  296,  L.  439,  S.  P.  223,  B.  435,  and  N.  224. 

1.  Literally,  “a  veil  of  cloud." 

2.  B.  ii.,  L.  and  N.  omit  this  u,  connecting  nature  and  heart  with 
the  \zdfat. 


0;0  (2) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


213 


^ 

}h  tsAj  t®Aj  |.A£> 


=\b 


CL-.  .^tLJlgN 

^tvvj  ^L-w.  i ^‘6\ 

}li  JjU  y ^ dai^  ^ 


'll 


y]  j)|  J? 

jy^  J'^ 


we  are  played  together  in  a baby-game  upon  the  chessboard 
of  existence, 

a7td  one  by  one  we  return  to  the  box  of  non-existence. 

95- 

Oh,  heart ! since  in  this  world  truth  itself  is  hyperbole, 
why  art  thou  so  disquieted  with  this  trouble  and  abasement  ? * 
resign  thy  body  to  destiny,  and  adapt  thyself  to  the  times, ^ 
for,  what  the  Pen  has  written,®  it  will  not  re-write  for  thy  sake.* 

96. 

On  the  face  of  the  rose  there  is  still  a cloud-shadow,* 
in  my  nature  and  heart"  there  is  still  a desire  for  wine; 

16 


214 


Notes 


3.  L.  reads  for  "place” — i.e.,  "What  time  is  this  for  sleeps  ” 

Vide  q.  97,  note  2. 

4 P.,  L.,  and  N.  read  "Drink  for  "Give” 

5.  Compare  Hafiz : 

It  is  morning,  oh  Said,  fill  the  cup  with  wine, 

The  rolling  vault  of  heaven  does  not  linger,  make  haste ! 

The  Sun  of  Wine  rises  from  the  east  of  the  cup. 

If  thou  seekest  the  pleasure  of  mirth,  bid  farewell  to  sleep 


97- 

This  quatrain  is  C.  271,  P.  262,  B ii.  299,  L.  425,  S.  P.  227,  B.  421,  N.  22S, 
and  W 267,  and  in  the  last  line  we  find  the  inspiration  of  F.  v.  64  ; 

Strange,  is  it  not  ? that  of  the  myriads  who 
Before  us  passed  the  door  of  Darkness  through. 

Not  one  returns  to  tell  us  of  the  Road 
Which  to  discover  we  must  travel  too, 

1.  "To  throw  dust  upon”*  is  a common  Persian  idiom  for  expressing 
contempt,  or  for  counting  as  nothing. 

2.  Literally,  "There  is  time  (or  place)  yet  for,”  etc. 

3.  For  'ahtidat  C.  reads  'itdb  "rebuke  comes,”  and  N.  'atd  hdshad,^ 

" favours  there  may  be,”  and  for  nemdz  {vide  note  2,  q 2)  both  read  longing. 

4.  B.  ii.,  N.  and  W.  read  " travellers.” Cf.  M.,  1.  3206,  which  F.  probably 
had  in  his  mind.  (Terminal  Essay,  p.  316.) 

5 P.  reads  "moon-faced”'’  for  "fair  of  face” 


gS. 

I do  not  find  this  quatrain  in  any  of  the  texts  under  consideration. 

ob;  (“) 


jt-  (3) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


215 


til-w-J  J ^ ^ J Ij  L_2^ 


^v 


^U.  ^ 

sr*  <s>^-^y-y^  s?*s5^ 

^ ^ ^**  ■*-»-*3  ij  La^  Ai^ 

}\i  J-.lj  ^\,Sisjj  “dU^  ^ 


=1A 


jv  ‘^T  «_s_^  >!. 

Jj\  J5  JjJ  (j 


1 . ^^5 

sleep  not,  what  right  hast  thou  to  sleep  yet  ? ^ 
give  me'*  wine,  sweetheart,  for  it  is  still  daylight.® 

97- 

Go  ! throw  dust  upon  > the  face  of  the  heavens, 
drink  wine,  and  consort  with  the  fair  of  face ; ® 

what  time  is  this  ^ for  worship?  and  what 'time  is  this  for 
supplication?® 

since,  of  all  those  that  have  departed,^  not  one  has  returned  ? 

98. 

Fill  the  cup ! for  the  day  breaks  white  like  snow, 
learn  colour  from  the  wine  that  is  ruby ; 


JLiij 


■ ^ • 

5;/^ 


-1-^  • ^ 


1 6 — 2 


2i6 


Notes 


99. 


This  quatrain  is  C.  276,  P.  346,  B.  ii.  301,  L.  435,  S.  P 229,  B.  431,  N. 
230,  and  W.  269,  practically  without  variation. 

I.  iahblr  zadan  is  to  make  renunciation  of  self  and  all  things  worldly,  by 
means  of  the  formula  Allah  ahlibar,  before  beginning  prayer.  Hence  the  takUr 
comes  to  signify  any  renunciation ; thus,  to  pronounce  the  tahUr  of  anyone  is  to 
renounce  his  friendship.  Here  Omar  indulges  in  an  irreverent  jest,  and  renounces 
the  nemaz  themselves,  it  being  orthodox  to  renounce  something, 

2 gardun  daraz  htrdan:  to  stretch  the  neck  means  in  Persian  idiom  “to 
passionately  desire.” 


100. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  283,  P.  99,  B.  ii.  303,  L.  446,  B.  442,  W.  274,  and  is  No.  25 
of  E.C.’s  examples.  It  forms  the  original  of  F.  v.  35  . 

Then  to  the  Lip  of  this  poor  earthern  Urn 
I lean’d  the  Secret  of  my  Life  to  learn; 

And  Lip  to  Lip  it  murmur’d,  “ While  you  live. 

Drink  ! for,  once  dead,  you  never  shall  return.” 

1.  C.  reads  az ghdyat-i-?idz}  with  great  persuasiveness. 

2,  Literally,  “ the  cause  or  means  of  long  life.” 


Transcript  and  Translation 


217 


c)T^ 

=1^ 

jL-J^T  J-^'^ 

s^-  r**^>  s?"^ 

1^  L-I^  ca  S*«w2 1 iSJ  6^  Is^ 

)1jJ  e,^j^  ^1  s?^'^  ->^ 

L. 

jT  jl  1*'^^ 

— P ^-JlL  jj  Ij 


take  two  fragrant  aloe  logs,  and  brighten  the  assembly, 
make  one  into  a lute,  and  burn  the  other. 


99. 

We  have  returned  to  our  wonted  debauch, 
we  have  renounced^ — the  Five  Prayers  1 
wherever  the  goblet  is,  there  thou  mayst  see  us, 
our  necks  stretched  out^  like  that  of  the  bottle. 


100. 

In  great  desire^  I pressed  my  lips  to  the  lip  of  the  jar, 
to  enquire  from  it  how  long  life  might  be  attained ; ^ 


2i8 


N otes 


3.  Literally,  “ and  said  in  secret."  B,  ii.  and  L read  this  line,  “ In  mystic 
language  it  told  me  this  secret."  2 p.  reads  : 

“ The  cnp  said  to  me  in  mystic  language, 

I was  a soul  like  thee,  enjoy  the  moment  like  me."  ^ 

4.  Compare  Gulistan,  ch  i , story  9 

I spent  my  life  in  precious  hopes,  alas  ’ 

That  every  desire  of  my  heart  will  be  fulfilled  , 

My  wishes  were  realised,  but  to  what  profit  ? since 
There  is  no  hope  that  my  past  life  will  return.^ 

lOI. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  294,  P.  154,  B.  ii.  315,  L 468,  5.  P.  239,  B.  464,  N.  240, 
and  W.  280.  It  contains  the  sentiment  of  the  shortness  of  life  and  duration  of 
eternity  which  signalises  many  of  F.’s  finest  verses,  (C/.  M , ch.  xxvii ) P.  172 
repeats  this  ruba’i  with  very  slight  verbal  change. 

1.  L.  reads  “ days  " ^ for  " hours." 

2.  Compare  P.N.,  ch.  Ixxi.,  and  de  Sacy's  notes  upon  it. 

102 

This  quatrain  is  C.  291,  P.  202,  B.  ii.  322,  L.  454,  S P.  241,  B.  450,  N.  242, 
and  W.  282,  and  we  find  in  it  the  germ  of  F.  v.  42  : 

And  if  the  Wine  you  drink,  the  Lip  you  press, 

End  in  what  All  begins  and  ends  in — Yes; 

Think  then  you  are  To-day  what  Yesterday 
You  were — To-morrow  you  shall  not  be  less 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  original  form  of  this  verse  was  much  closer  to  the 
original  Persian,  F.  i.  47,  the  last  three  lines  of  which  run ; 

End  in  the  Nothing  all  things  end  in — yes — 

Then  fancy  while  Thou  art,  Thou  art  but  what 
Thou  shalt  be — Nothing — Thou  shalt  not  be  less. 

I.  C.  for  " wine  " reads  " love,"^  and  B.  ii,  and  L for  “with  wine"  read 
“full  of  wine."  ® 

2 The  familiar  lala  rfikh,  L.  and  N read  “with  a smooth-cheeked  one" 

C.  reads  " fresh-cheeked."  ^ 

K:y*  ^ (^) 
0^1  (S) 

j|  J 

ji  fUwtJ  0^1 

«AiT  j)b  ^ 

ioL,  U Q)  J.  iol.  (6)  (S)  tjjj  (<) 


Bjls  Ij  (S) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


2ig 


^ <-:-J 


jijy  j-^  ^1 

l♦Jcl>J  Jij  <^A.M^xs>  Lo 

[;^3l  c£>l^ 


Lt^ 

jji>b  ^jb^  jt\ 

jjisb  ^J»y^  jt\  d3i)  Ij 

it  joined  its  lip  to  mine  and  whispered^: — 

Drink  wine,  for,  to  this  world,  thou  returnest  not.”  ^ 

101. 

I will  give  thee  counsel  if  thou  wilt  give  ear  to  me, 
for  the  sake  of  God  do  not  wear  the  garment  of  hypocrisy, 
the  hereafter  will  fill  all  hours, ^ and  the  world  is  but  a moment, 
do  not  sell  the  kingdom  of  eternity  for  the  sake  of  one  moment.’' 

102. 

Khayyam,  if  thou  art  drunk  with  wine,^  be  happy, 
if  thou  reposest  with  one  tulip-cheeked.^  be  happy, 


220 


Notes 


3.  C.  reads  this  line,  “Since  in  this  world  of  nothingness  you  must  pass 
away’’;^  and  P.,  L.,  and  N.,  “Since  the  end  of  this  world’s  business  is  annihila- 
tion.”B.  ii.  reads:  “Do  not  slumber  thus,  for  thou  wilt  be  nothing  to- 
morrow.” ^ Compare  lines  3 and  4 of  q 150,  which  are  almost  identical. 


103 

This  quatrain  is  C.  301,  P.  102,  B ii.  323,  L.  470,  S.  P.  242,  B.  466,  N. 
243,  W.  483,  and  E.  C.  26.  It  gave  to  F.  three  verses  of  the  section,  called  in 
F.  i.  kusa  ndmah,  “ The  Book  of  Pots.”  They  are  F.  v.  82,  83,  and  87  : 

As  under  cover  of  departing  Day 
Slunk  hunger-stricken  Ramazan  away. 

Once  more  within  the  Potter’s  house  alone 
I stood,  surrounded  by  the  Shapes  of  Clay: 

Shapes  of  all  Sorts  and  Sizes,  great  and  small, 

That  stood  along  the  floor  and  by  the  wall ; 

And  some  loquacious  Vessels  were  ; and  some 
Listen’d,  perhaps,  but  never  talked  at  all. 


Whereat  some  one  of  the  loquacious  bt — 

I think  a Sufi  pipkin — waxing  hot — 

“ All  this  of  Pot  and  Potter — Tell  me,  then. 

Who  is  the  Potter,  pray,  and  who  the  Pot  ? ” 

The  quatrain  in  C,  is  practically  identical  with  the  lines  transposed  thus:  i,  4,  3,  2. 

I.  B.  ii , L.  and  N.  read  this  line,  “Every  one  of  them  said  to  me  in 
mystic  language”^  (ba  zabdn-i-hal). 


104. 

1 do  not  find  this  quatrain  in  any  of  the  texts  under  consideration,  excepting 
the  Paris  MS.,  where  it  is  No.  248,  and  in  B.  ii.,  where  it  is  No.  324. 

I . Here  we  have  a play  upon  the  words  mh  = wine  and  yuh  ~ * * the  incorporeal 
spirit,  the  breath  of  God,  the  Qur'an,  i.e.,  Revelation  ” (Steingass)  Paris  MS. 
reads,  “ that  wine  which  they  call  pure  spirit.” 

2 Compare  q.  7,  note  2.  B.  ii.  and  Paris  MS.  begin  the  line,  “A  restorer 
(architect)  of  a ruined  heart.” 


li  Jla.  i,sh 


Transcript  and  Translation 


221 


o'^y- 

jSib  (ji»^ 

\.r 

d.S^lS’ 

y sj)>^ 

UP 

2;)^  CA?  ob 


52 

since  the  end  of  all  things  is  that  thou  wilt  be  naught ; ^ 
whilst  thou  art,  imagine  that  thou  art  not,— be  happy! 


103. 

I went  last  night  into  the  workshop  of  a potter, 

I saw  two  thousand  pots,  so^ne  speaking,  and  some  silent ; 
suddenly  one  of  the  pots  cried  out  aggressively^: — 

Where  are  the  pot  maker,  and  the  pot  buyer,  and  the  pot 
seller  ? ” 


104. 

Of  this  spirit,  that  they  call  pure  wine,^ 

they  say : — It  is  a remedy  for  a ruined  heart ^ 


222 


Notes 


3 P for  " cups  ” reads  "half-men  measures.” ^ Vtde  note  2,  q.  145 

4 Here  we  have  another  of  the  ingenious  puns  which  are  typical  of  the  poem : 
A/zflf>'="good,”  — " wicked,”  and  so  he  gets  the  juxtaposition  of  hhair  ab  = 
" good  water,”  and  shan-dh  = “ wicked  water,”  or  shaydh,  which  means  "wine.” 

5 It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  the  East  wine  is  sold  by  weight,  i.c.,  by 
the  men  or  maund  {vide  note  2,  q.  155). 


105. 

This  quatrain  is  P.  26,  B.  ii.  329,  L.  469,  S P.  24S,  B 465,  N.  249,  and 
W.  288.  It  does  not  vary. 

1,  hashatan  lillaJi,  a common  Arabic  interjection. 

2.  Literally,  "By  the  head  of  the  Tomb  of  the  Prophet  of  God.” 


106. 


This  quatrain  is  B.  ii.  330,  L.  473,  S.  P.  249,  B.  467,  N.  250,  and  W.  291. 
It  does  not  vary,  save  infinitesimally. 


Transcript  and  Translation 


223 


^jSsiL^JJ  IjCu,  1^ 

&^d>yS  6jSj  tSAjt-SAj 

^ 35 

]j^  jsjT  lyi  ^ j] 
a1)1  1^1^ 

U1 

cJl^^  ll^  I ^%X9  J ^ 

c,  A^UJ  <,••  Aw^;Cia 


'-^'j  lyiv-^^^^//*'' 
••'\  (f 


/,  1 


JU»i 


'<  “ »/ 


53 


set  quickly  before  me  two  or  three  heavily^  filled  cups,® 
why  do  they  call  a good  water  ‘‘wicked  water 


105. 

Regard  my  virtues  one  by  one,  and  forgive  my  crimes  ten 
by  ten, 

pardon  every  crime  that  is  past,  the  reckoning  is  with  God ! ^ 
let  not  the  wind  and  air  fan  the  flame  of  thy  rancour, 
by  Muhammad’s  tomb ! forgive  me,^ 

106. 

Verily  wine  in  the  goblet  is  a delicate  spirit, 
in  the  body  of  the  jar,  a delicate  soul  reposes. 


224 


Notes 


1.  The  other  texts  read  the  last  word  man=  “my  friend  (B.  ii,  reads 
" 2^5  friend,”  supra.) 

2,  In  which  case  h'lck  givan  should  be  rendered  '*  no  dull  person.” 

107. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  312,  B.  ii,  341,  L.  489,  B.  484,  and  W 304.  It  contains 
the  sentiment  that  appears  in  many  of  F.’s  quatrains,  but  nowhere  more  strongly 
than  in  F.  v.  54  : 

Waste  not  your  Hour,  nor  in  the  vain  pursuit 
Of  This  and  That  endeavour  and  dispute ; 

Better  be  jocund  with  the  fruitful  Grape, 

Than  sadden  after  none,  or  bitter  Fruit. 

The  whole  quatrain  suggests  one  of  Sa’di’s  “Maxims”:  “Life  is  in  the 
keeping  of  a single  breath.  The  world  is  an  existence  between  two  annihilations.”  ^ 
(Gulistan,  ch.  viii.,  maxim  33.) 

I.  dzal  in  Persian  dogma  is  eternity  without  beginning,  i c.,  “pom  all  time  ” 
as  opposed  to  cibad,  eternity  without  end,  f.e.,  “to  all  eternity.” 

108 

This  quatrain  is  C.  332,  P.  40,  B.  ii.  356,  L 505,  S.  P.  266,  B.  501,  N. 
267,  W.  310,  de  T.  10,  E.  C.  28,  and  is  the  original  of  F.  i.  46  : 

For  in  and  out,  above,  about,  below, 

'Tis  nothing  but  a Magic  Shadow-show, 

Play'd  in  a Box  whose  Candle  is  the  Sun 
Round  which  we  Phantom  Figures  come  and  go. 

In  its  final  form,  F.  v.  68,  it  runs  as  follows  : 

We  are  no  other  than  a moving  row 
Of  Magic  Shadow-shapes  that  come  and  go. 

Round  with  the  Sun-illumin' d Lantern  held 
In  Midnight  by  the  Master  of  the  Show  ; 

and  it  is  coupled  with  F.  v.  69,  quoted  $vh  q.  94.  Cf.  M.,  1.  7,  as  to  the  vault  of 
Heaven  and  the  story  of  Ayaz  (1.  3368-3405),  from  which  F.  took  “the  idea  of” 
his  verse,  F.  v 70. 

1.  E.  C 's  “ at  which  we  gaze  bewildered  ” is,  I think,  too  free. 

2.  These  lanterns  are  of  varying  shapes.  In  Persia,  says  Nicolas,  it  is  made 
of  two  copper  basins  separated  by  a shade  of  waxed  calico  about  a yard  high. 
The  lower  one  contains  the  candle,  and  the  upper  one  has  a handle  for  the  arm  of 
the  ferrash  who  carries  it  The  shade  is  folded  like  the  familiar  “ Chinese  lantern.” 
Ornaments  are  painted  on  the  cloth,  and  it  is  to  the  vacillation  of  these  as  the  carrier 
shifts  it  from  one  hand  to  another  that  Omar  refers.  The  editor  of  the  Calcutta 
Review  appends  a note  at  the  foot  of  E.  C.  as  follows ; “ These  lanthorns  are  very 
common  in  Calcutta.  They  are  made  of  a tall  cylinder,  with  figures  of  men 
and  animals  cut  out  of  paper  and  pasted  on  it.  The  cylinder,  which  is  very  light, 
is  suspended  on  an  axis,  round  which  it  easily  turns.  A hole  is  cut  near  the 
bottom,  and  the  part  cut  out  is  fixed  at  an  angle  to  the  cylinder,  so  as  to  form  a 
vane.  When  a small  lamp  or  candle  is  placed  inside,  a current  of  air  is  produced 
which  keeps  the  cylinder  slowly  revolving.” 


Transcript  and  Translation 


225 


^ 

\.V 

0 r 

/. 

• 

{1 

54 

nothing  heavy  ^ is  worthy  to  be  the  friend  of  wine 
save  the  wine-cup,  for  that  is,  at  the  same  time,  heavy  and 
delicate. 

107. 

Where  is  the  limit  to  eternity  to  come,  and  where  to  eternity 
past  ? ^ 

now  is  the  time  of  joy,  there  is  no  substitute  for  wine: 
both  theory  and  practice  have  passed  beyond  my  ken, 
blit  wine  unties  the  knot  of  every  difficulty. 

108. 

This  vault  of  heaven,  beneath  which  we  stand  bewildered,^ 
we  know  to  be  a sort  of  magic-lantern : ^ 


226 


Notes 


3.  E.  C exactly  conveys  the  meaning  “ The  sun  is  the  candle,  the  world 
the  shade  ’’  (or globe). 

4.  C.  and  P.  read,  "that  are  bewildered  in  it,”  repeating  the  liairdnm  of 
line  I,  which  makes  me  think  it  is  an  error  of  the  copyist.  There  are  several  signs 
of  weariness  on  the  part  of  the  scribe  in  the  verse  in  my  copies,  Sed  qncsn. 


109. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  331,  B.  ii  365,  L.  503,  S.  P.  281,  B.  499,  N.  282,  W.  322, 
and  does  not  vary  It  accounts  for  many  such  lines  as  in  F.  v.  93  and  94,  q.  v.  svh 
q.  93  ante,  and,  what  is  more  interesting,  it  contains  a strong  suggestion  of  the 
quatrain  F.  v.  81,  which  has  baffled  so  many  commentators  : 

Oh  Thou,  who  Man  of  baser  Earth  didst  make, 

And  ev’n  with  Paradise  devise  the  Snake  ; 

Fur  all  the  Sin  wherewith  the  Face  of  Man 
Is  blacken’d — Man’s  forgiveness  give— and  take ! 

[Vide,  however,  note  3 to  q.  i,  ante;  and  f/.  M,  11  3229-3253,  and  the  passage 
beginning  at  1.  225.  (Terminal  Essay,  p.  309  ) 


no. 

This  quatrain  I do  not  find  in  any  of  the  texts  under  consideration. 

I 'azm  kerdan  is  " to  make  intention  ” 

2.  nab,  here  and  elsewhere  in  this  poem,  means  "pure  ” in  the  sense  of  being 
**  undiluted.” 

3.  The  Zisyphus  vulgaris, < or  common  Syrian  jujube-tree  Its  fruit  is  made  into 
sweetmeats,  and  its  juice  is  used  for  coughs,  but  the  British  jujube-lozenge  takes 
nothing  from  it  but  its  name. 


Transcript  and  Translaiion 


227 


" ^ ^ ^ A»i*.Wp^4>J^  .1  I.J 

cj^-^  ^ 

C^/  <S^  6^^jA> 


H. 


cj  Lj  s bi  b _j  l*.^**^  ^ 

r^  c—iUjD'  cL^^  ty  '^b 


know  thou  that  the  sun  is  the  lamp-flame  and  the  universe  is 
the  lamp,^ 

we  are  like  figures  that  revolve  in  it.^ 

log. 

I do  not  always  prevail  over  my  nature —6jrf  what  can  I do  ? 
and  I suffer  for  ray  actions,— what  can  I do  ? 

I verily  believe  that  Thou  wilt  generously  pardon  me 
on  account  of  my  shame  that  Thou  hast  seen  what  I have 
done, — but  what  can  I do  ? 

no. 

Let  me  arise  and  seek^  pure®*  wine, 

make  thou  the  colour  of  my  cheek  like  that  of  the  jujube  fruit,* 


228 


Notes 


4 Literally,  "professing  exuberance  " 

III. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  356,  P ri8,  B.  ii.  372,  L.  554,  S P.  276,  B 547.  N 277, 
and  W.  320 

1.  Literally,  "intellect.” 

2.  B.  ii.,  L.,  N.,  and  W.  read  ‘'sad  " 1 = “ lOo  years.” 

3.  dahy  means  also  " eternity.”  C.  reads " in  the  body  ” 

4 The  other  texts  begin  this  line,  " Pour  thou  wine  into  the  cup,”  etc  “ 


112. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  344,  B.  ii.  373,  L.  537,  S.  P.  283,  B.  532,  N.  2S4,  and 
W.  324  The  first  line  suggests  F.  v.  48  . *'  A moment’s  halt,  a momentary  taste 
of  Being,”  etc. 

1.  Compare  makdm,  a halting-place,  and  viuhim,  which  signifies  a more 
permanent  abode 

2.  Literally,  " food  is  painful.” 

3.  L.  for  sdki  reads  mal — wine.  C.,  N.,  and  W.  end  the  line,  " is  a great 
error,”  ^ a reading  which  I have  found  in  an  isolated  transcript  of  this  ruba'i 
written  upon  the  flyleaf  of  a diwan  of  Emad  (dated  920  a.h.)  in  a contemporary 
handwriting.  (Bibliotheque  Nationale,  Paris  ) 


0 


Transcript  and  Translation 


229 


<-^l^  ii5oUj^  ji 


<5J|J>^  eSAj  C3^  a3  <1^ 

L.  d^  ^Ij))  a^b 


ilt^ 


fls  for  this  meddling  ^ intellect,  a fist-full  of  wine 
will  I throw  in  its  face,  to  make  it  sleep. 


III. 

How  long  shall  we  continue  slaves  to  every-day  problems  ? ’ 
what  matter  whether  we  live  one  “year,  or  one  day,  in  this  world  ? ® 
pour  out  a cup  of  wine,^  before  that  we 
become  pots  in  the  workshop  of  the  potters. 


112. 

Since  our  abode  in  this  monastery  is  not  permanent  * 
without  the  Cup-bearer  and  the  beloved,’  it  is  painful  to  support 
life ; “ 

17 


230 


Notes 


4.  N.  translates  “ of  the  creation  or  eternity  (end)  of  the  world  ’ 

5.  C.,  B ii , L.,  and  N.  read  mard  i sallm,^  simpleton. 


113. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  372,  P.  147,  B.  ii.  381,  L 514,  S.  P.  2S6,  B.  509,  N.  287, 
and  W,  327. 

1.  ie.,  “Thy  service  is  fraught  with  reproaches.’*  L.  for  sadd  reads  ze  = 
“ from  “ ; t c , on  account  of  (sins  I incur  reproaches). 

2.  C.  repeats  the  maldmat  be-hashim,  which  makes  sense,  but  is  probably  a 
clerical  error. 

3.  i,e.,  “ If  life  and  thy  severity  are  faithful  to  one  another.”  (”  If  thy  severity 
continues  all  my  life  ” — wafa  Ii(frdan= to  perform  a promise ) 

4.  N.  reads  kem  az  an  gah  = ” less  than  that  time,”  for  km  az  anki,  but  the 
latter  is  more  probably  correct  C.  for  “ till  ” reads  *'  upon  ” (&«). 

5 B.  ii  for  ” please  God  ” reads  “ after  all  ” [akh%r). 


114. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  369,  P.  234,  B.  ii.  3S0,  L.  522,  S.  P.  288,  B.  517,  N.  289, 
and  W.  329.  We  find  again  an  echo  of  F.  v.  94  in  this  quatrain  which  expresses 
the  poet’s  scorn  of  penitence. 

1.  Literally,  “science  or  doctrine."  A synonym  of  in  conjunction  with 
which  it  occurs  frequently  in  Persian. 

2.  Literally,  “ I only  practise  the  science  of,”  etc.  The  other  texts  for  mi 
ready«if,2  " I only  mwew&fy,”  etc. 


^ (*) 


(^)  l*-!^  (^) 


Transcript  and  Tra7islatio7i 


231 


wr 


|<V*vv>^  d>i^  kX^  ^3 

^x;,<s^  <,£..-w«  kX^J^ 

1^  c^l-jbl  p r^.  y^ 

us-^l^  Li*  c55si  1^1  ^ 


(IP 

i^b 


57 

how  long  of  ancient  creeds  or  new,^  O philosopher  ? ® 
when  I have  left  it  what  matter  if  the  world  be  old  or  new? 


113- 

In  loving  Thee  I incur  reproaches  for  a hundred  sins/ 
and  if  I fail  in  this  obligation  I pay  a penalty : “ 
if  my  life  remain  faithful  to  Thy  cruelty/ 

please  God/  I shall  have  less  than  that  to  bear  till  the  Judg- 
ment Day/ 

114. 

The  world  being  fleeting,  I practise  naught  but  artifice/ 

I hold  only^  with  cheerfulness  and  sparkling  wine; 

17 — 2 


232 


Notes 


3.  L,  reads  this  line  in  different  words : They  say,  God  will  grant  thee 
pardon  for  wine  (drinking).” ^ B.  ii.  has  a combination  of  the  two  readings 

4.  Compare  q.  64,  line  4. 


115. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  374,  P.  340,  B.  ii.  382,  L.  532,  B.  527,  S.  P.  284,  N.  285, 
and  W.  325. 

1.  niyaz  means  here  "with  humility,  fawning.”  N reads  it  to  mean, 
" Though  I come  to  the  mosque  from  a sense  of  duty,”  sed  qu(sn, 

2.  P.,  L.,  N.,  and  W.  begin  haMa  2 = " really,”  also  " 0 God  ! ” 

3.  The  other  texts  read  the  stronger  form,  ” I stole,”  ^ for  this,  which 
equals  ” I abstracted  ” (literally,  made  less). 

4.  The  sejjddeh^  is  the  Muslim  prayer-mat  upon  which  the  sejjdd  ^ or  cere- 
monial prostration  is  performed. 

5.  i.e.,  that  prayer-mat. 

6.  i.e.,  to  steal  others 


116 

This  quatrain  is  C.  345,  P.  227,  B.  ii.  385,  L.  539,  S.  P.  289,  B.  534,  N.  290, 
and  W.  330.  F.  has  taken  one  of  his  Kuza  Nameh  verses  from  this,  F.  v.  89 : 

" Well,”  murmur'd  one,  ” Let  whoso  make  or  buy, 

My  Clay  with  long  Oblivion  is  gone  dry  : 

But  fill  me  with  the  old  familiar  Juice, 

Methinks  I might  recover  by-and-by." 

There  is  a quatrain  in  the  texts  N.  115,  etc,,  ending  in  d,  which  has  an  almost 
identical  meaning,  though  the  phraseology  is  much  varied. 

I,  N.  and  W.  read  this  line,  " In  the  hand  of  destiny  I become  like  a bird’s 
feather  (floating  away).”  ^ C.  reads  "And  by  the  hand  of  destiny  I am  rooted  up.”  ^ 


('^')  1*^  ^ ^ ^ Ji^l  (B)  0 


Transcript  and  Translation 


233 


^ JJbJ 

Il6 

^1  2iitXi^T  ^ ^iS 

fijw*T  ^Ui  ^ j\  isJJ)^ 

<5lljL-CiyO  Lq^I 

p!  aj^T  iU^s’ 

in 


1*^  tj^  ^ 

<JSlX^  ji  ^-J 


58 

they  say  to  me : — May  God  grant  thee  penitence.”  ® 

He  himself  does  not  give  it,  and  if  He  gives  it,  I will  none  of  it.^ 


115- 

Although  I have  come  with  an  air  of  supplication^  to  the  mosque, 
by  Allah ! I have  not  come  to  pray ; 

I came  one  day  and  stole®  a prayer-mat^ — 
that  sin®  wears  out,  and  I come  again  and  again.® 

116. 

When  I am  abased  beneath  the  foot  of  destiny 
and  am  rooted  up  from  the  hope  of  life,^ 


234 


Notes 


2 N and  W read  “ May  it  be  that  with  the  perfume  of  the  wine  I may  revive 
for  a moment  C reads  “So  long  as  it  is  full  of  the  perfume  of  wine  I may 
live  ; 2 l reads  “ May  it  be  that  when  it  is  very  moist  (or  ' moist  with  wine,’  ^ 
the  lithograph  is  bad)  I may  live.’ B.  ii.  has  another  variant,  but  P.  is  the  same 
as  here. 


117. 

I do  not  find  this  quatrain  in  any  of  the  texts  under  consideration.  We  get 
in  it  an  echo  of  F.  v.  77,  q.  v.  ante  sub  q.  2 

1.  ddna  = grain  or  seed  scattered  to  attract  birds,  also  science,  learning. 

2.  muddm  gives  a meaning  of  perpetuity ; it  has  also  the  meaning  of  “ wine 
drunk  all  day  long,”  as  opposed  to  sabuh,^  the  morning  draught  (vide  q.  32, 1.  3),  or 
ghdbuk,^  the  evening  draught  (Steingass). 

3 i.e.,  “ Wise  or  strong  in  a tavern,  than  ignorant  or  weak  in  a sauma'ah," 

which  means,  especially,  a Christian  cell  or  hermitage.  Vide  q.  24,  note  i,  and  cf, 
M.,  1.  1.356,  “ Thou  wert  formerly  raw  in  love,  but  now  that  thou  hast  acquired 
experience,  thou  art  cooked  : salaam  i 

4,  Cf.  M.,  1.  1887.  " oiiB  moment  my  passionate  heart  urges  me  towards 

the  tavern,  at  another  my  spirit  urges  me  to  prayer.”  ® 


ii8. 

This  quatrain  is  B.  ii  391,  L.  571,  S.  P.  293,  B.  564,  N.  294,  and  W.  332,  and  is 
invariable.  In  this  we  have  echoes  of  F,  v.  93-5,  and  also  of  F.  v.  41,  which 
made  its  first  appearance  as  F,  ii.  55  : 

Perplext  no  more  with  Human  or  Divine, 

To-morrow’s  tangle  to  the  winds  resign, 

And  lose  your  fingers  in  the  tresses  of 
The  Cypress-slender  Minister  of  Wine. 

I.  i.e.,  “inhale  the  fumes  of,”  literally,  “ strike.” 


esoJj  aoU  j)  y U 

(®)  (5)  j?  j (*) 


(1^ 

^ JwiiU  (^^^ 


Tmnscript  and  Translation 


235 


jyio  ajb  j^jIco 

iiv 

dila  ^ jjy  Jj 

[*W^  Ip  J [p 

p 1 Js^  ^ d-6v^  1 b 

^Ica.  d^dJ  dXaJ, 

ilA 


take  heed  that  thou  makest  nothing  but  a goblet  of  my  clay, 
haply  when  it  is  full  of  wine  I may  revive.^ 


117. 

My  heart  does  not  distinguish  between  the  bait  ^ and  the  trap, 
one  counsel  urges  it  towards  the  mosque,  another  towards 
the  cup  ; ^ 

nevertheless  the  wine-cup,  and  the  loved  one,  and  I continually^ 
together, 

are  better,  cooked,  in  a tavern,  than  raw,  in  a monastery.® 

118. 

It  is  morning:  let  us  for  a moment  inhale^  rose-coloured  wine, 
and  shatter  against  a stone  this  vessel  of  reputation  and  honour; 


236 


Notes 


2 i e , “ Let  us  cease  to  strive  to  earn  salvation."  Literally,  " Let  us  with- 
draw our  hands  from  our  long  hope.” 

3.  Literally,  the  “ skirt,”  or  “fringe,”  of  the  lute. 


119. 

This  is  also,  as  far  as  I have  found,  only  in  this  MS.  We  recognise  the  senti- 
ment of  F.  V.  II  and  12.  It  is  No.  14  of  E.  C.’s  examples. 

1.  c/.  “ We  have  renounced  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  the  world.” 

2.  i.e.  "at  the  price  of.”  Cf.  M,  1.  2599.  “Does  one  buy  poverty?” 
(Adhem)  replied  • “ I for  one  chose  it  voluntarily,  and  I bought  it  at  the  price  of 
the  kingdom  of  the  world,”  etc.  etc.s 

3.  cf  Giilshan  i mz,  1.  699.  Chap.  77  of  P.N.  is  a perfect  reflection  of  this 
ruba’i  De  Sacy  in  his  notes  (p  304)  quotes  an  Arabic  quatrain  which  may  be 
translated  "Poverty  is  substance;  everything  outside  poverty  is  but  an 
accident’  poverty  is  health;  everything  outside  poverty  is  but  malady.  The 
whole  world  is  but  illusion  and  falsity ; poverty  alone  in  all  the  world  is  an 
excellent  possession  and  real  wealth.” 


120 

This  quatrain  is  P.  265,  B ii.  409,  L.  523,  S.  P.  299,  B.  518,  N.  300,  and  W. 
336,  and  it  is  the  original  of  F.  v.  56  : 

For  “ Is  ” and  ” Is  not,”  though  with  Rule  and  Line 
And  “ Up-and-down  ” by  Logic  I define, 

Of  all  that  one  should  care  to  fathom,  I 
Was  never  deep  in  anything  but — Wine, 

which  is  a great  improvement  upon  F.  i.  41,  its  original  form.  The  quatrain  is  of 
course  a sneer  at  his  own  algebraical  and  astronomical  studies.  Cf.  Dante,  Rime 
C.  xviii. : “Ah  com’  poca  difesa  mostra  signore  a cui  servo  sormonta  I ” 

I.  zahir  is  “ exoteric,”  as  opposed  to  bdtin,  *'  esoteric,”  in  line  2. 

2 N.  reads,  “ all  that  is  powerfully  exalted.”  ^ 


j\ji  (1) 

e) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


237 


ih 

1*^0^  -j' 

^Jj_^  ^J=  j)^ 

Jjj  ^L^J 

|.J.jJ  u&-j^,_^ly 

\v. 

y iblla  (^J— ^ 

j\ji  j—S> 

let  US  cease  to  strive  after  what  has  long  been  our  hope,“ 
and  play  with  long  ringlets  and  the  handle®  of  the  lute. 


119. 

We  have  preferred  a corner  and  two  loaves  to  the  world, 
and  we  have  put  away  greed  of  its  estate  and  magnificence;' 
we  have  bought  poverty  with  our°  heart  and  soul — 
in  poverty  we  have  discerned  great  riches.® 


120. 

I know  the  outwardness ' of  existence  and  of  non-existence, 
I know  the  inwardness  of  all  that  is  high  and  low ; ■* 


238 


Notes 


3.  Literally,  "with  all  this,”  C/.  q.  i,  1.  3 

4.  The  other  texts  read,  "I  am  weary  1 of  my  knowledge.”  Compare 
Gulistan,  ch.  i,,  story  9 : 

" My  life  has  lapsed  in  ignorance  ; 

I have  done  nothing;  be  on  your  guard  ' ” ^ 


121. 

This  quatrain  is  B ii.  420,  L.  544  (and  B.  538),  whence  it  becomes  W.  353  ; 
it  is  the  source  of  F.  v.  27  and  28  : 

Myself,  when  young,  did  eagerly  frequent 
Doctor  and  Saint,  and  heard  great  argument 
About  it  and  about ; but  evermore 
Came  out  by  the  same  door  wherein  I went. 

With  them  the  seed  of  Wisdom  did  I sow, 

And  with  mine  own  hand  wrought  to  make  it  grow  ; 

And  this  was  all  the  Harvest  that  I reap’d — 

'*  I came  like  Water,  and  like  Wind  I go.” 

1.  L.  and  W.  reads  " hear  ” ^ 

2.  In  L.  this  line  reads,  " We  came  up  from  the  earth  and  depart  upon  the 

wind,”  ^ which  even  more  closely  suggests  the  observation  attributed  by  Attar  to 
Nizam-ul-Mulk  when  dying : '*  Oh  Godl  I am  passing  away  in  the  hand  of  the 
Wind  ” M.,  1 4620.  Nizam-ul-Mulk  was  assassinated,  at  the  instance  of  Omar’s 

patron  Malik  Shah,  by  one  of  the  followers  of  Hassan  Sabah,  the  other  partner 
to  the  "tripartite  agreement,”  but  it  may  be  observed  that  though  Malcolm 
(voL  i.,  p 220;  vide  note  3,  q 139)  gives  the  dying  speech  of  Nizam-ul-Mulk  at 
great  length  (an  eulogy,  by-the-way,  of  his  murderer),  there  is  no  trace  in  it  of  this 
observation  attributed  to  him  by  Attar.  Cf.  also  M , 11.  1559  (Terminal  Essay, 
p,  31 1)  and  22SS,  which  refers  to  the  dispersal  of  the  dust  of  the  body  by  the  wind 
after  death  (Terminal  Essay,  p.  311). 

3.  B.  ii.  for  " water  ” reads  " cloud-mist.”® 

122. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  411,  P.  58,  B.  ii.  424,  L.  618,  S.  P.  319,  B.  610,  N.  322, 
and  W.  365. 

1.  B.  ii.,  L.,  N.,  and  W.,  for  "mysteries  ” read  " vicissitudes.”  ^ 

2.  B.  ii.,  L.,  N.,  and  W..  for  " of  the  world  ” read  ” and  annoyance.”  ® 

3.  B.  ii.,  C.,  L.,  andN.,  for  "all  the  same  ” read  " of  little  account  ”=  easy.'^ 


^loU}  0)  rj'ja  C) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


239 


1*3  I ui  1^  I ..^  J— 


3*^  i3 ti  lii^  b i3'Ji«ss^J 

3 b ^t3  c-^T 


iri" 

e)W  ^ t^T 

0 Lw,?Cj  Jjio  yy^  ^ L^  ^ ^ i3  Ui> 

61 

nev6i'theless  ” let  me  be  modest  * about  my  own  knowledge 
if  I recognise  any  degree  higher  than  drunkenness. 

121. 

For  a while,  when  young,  we  frequented  a teacher, 
for  a while  we  were  contented  with  our  proficiency ; 
behold^  the  foundation  of  the  discourse: — what  happened  to  us? 
we  came  in  like  water®  and  we  depart  like  wind.® 

122. 

To  him  who  understands  the  mysteries'  of  the  world, 
the  joy  and  sorrow  of  the  world®  is  all  the  same;® 


240 


Notes 


4.  N.  reads  bs-su,^  meaning  the  same. 

5.  W.  begins  the  line,  "Thou  wilt  have  pain^  (and  also  the  remedy).” 
The  meaning  of  the  line  is  obscure.  W.  appends  the  note,  '"Twill  all  be  one 
a hundred  years  hence.”  I should  like  to  render  hhwdhi  here  by  the  German 
••  meinetwcgen,"  or  the  French  "a  la  bonne  Jieuye!"  There  is  no  good  English 
equivalent ; in  q.  2 I have  rendered  it  “ an  Thou  wilt.” 


123. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  410,  B.  ii.  435,  L.  617,  S.  P.  324,  B.  6og,  N.  327,  and 
W.  368,  and  is  practically  invariable. 

I The  word  nnd  is  also  used  to  designate  the  Sufis,  who,  according  to  the 
popular  reading  of  his  philosophy,  were  Omar’s  pet  detestation. 

2.  nemdz,  Vid&  ante,  passm. 

3.  rtlzeh  means  “a  day’s  allowance  of  food,”  and,  ceremonially,  ”a  fast.” 

4.  B.  ii , N.  and  W.  omit  ” Omar,”  and  end  the  line  *’  Oh  Friend  ! ” ^ 

5.  Literally,  ” strike  the  road." 

6.  i e , but.  There  is  a Turkish  proverb  akin  to  this  : '*  Be  a robber,  be  a 
thief,  but  do  not  put  conscience  aside.”  ^ 


124. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  402,  P.  53,  B.  ii.  436,  L,  605,  B.  59S,  and  W.  387. 
No.  76  in  the  Paris  MS.  and  No.  270  in  B.  ii.  (both  ending  in  r)  are  identical  in 
meaning,  and  practically  so  in  phraseology. 

1.  Literally,  ” this  salt-marsh.” 

2.  Literally,  “to  cut  away  the  soul.”  C.  ends  the  line,  “and  agony  of 
heart  and  soul,”  ^ B.  ii.  has  practically  the  same  ending. 


(^)  dW  3 (®)  3^  (-)  ^ (^) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


241 


Cj  1 * • * • ^ 1 ’ 

— 'if'y 

irr 

j4^ 

c/i-T'  • -!•  ,• 

J 1 

<d^yy^  ^S■y'^ 

* V-i.'  1 

L •//«  ■ -•  . . • H 

ty  yjyy  H 

Y >»  • B 

62 

since  the  good  and  the  bad  of  the  world  will  come  to  an  end ; * 
what  matter,  since  it  must  end  ? an  thou  wilt,  be  all  pain,  or, 
an  thou  wilt,  all  remedy.® 

123. 

So  far  as  in  thee  lies,  follow  the  example  of  the  profligate,* 
destroy  the  foundations  of  prayer^  and  fasting:® 
hear  thou  the  Word  of  Truth  from  Omar  Khayyam,^ 

“ Drink  wine,  rob  on  the  highway,®  and  ® be  benevolent.” 

124. 

Since  the  harvest  for  the  human  race,  in  this  wilderness,* 
is  naught  but  to  suffer  affliction  or  to  give  up  the  ghost,® 


Notes 


242 


125. 

This  is  one  of  the  quatrains  that  appear  to  be  found  only  in  this  MS. 

1.  Literally,  “the  dress  of  face,”  a “veil  in  which  figures  are  woven.” 
Vide  q.  63,  note  i. 

2.  Vide  q 55,  note  3.  Cf,  M.,  1.  3653  “A  celebrated  shaikh,  clad  in  the 
robe  of  voluntary  poverty. 

3.  Literally,  “strike  the  drum  of  Sultanate.”  Vide  q.  34,  note  5,  and  M., 
11.  2162  and  2753,  there  cited. 


126. 

This  quatrain  is  P.  186,  L.  623,  B.  615,  whence  it  becomes  W.  386.  We  find 
in  it  an  echo  of  F.  v.  22,  and  the  complete  sentiment  of  F.  v.  25  . 

Alike  for  those  who  for  To-day  prepare, 

And  those  that  after  some  To-morrow  stare, 

A Muezzin  from  the  Tower  of  Darkness  cries 
“ Fools  ! your  Reward  is  neither  Here  nor  There," 

See  also  F.  v.  22,  suh  q.  137. 

1.  Literally,  “this  revolving  cupola.”  W.  reads  “ overturned  ” 1 for 
“revolving,”  but  gives  no  authority  for  the  rendering. 

2.  P and  L.  read  “ empty  of  all  friends.”  ® 


Transcript  and  Translation 


243 


^ ss~^  aJ^T 

\t>a 


^ji  '<L.l<^  ^ JHV'^ 

^ f^Jj^  Ij 

^^1  y,  yii  &j^ 

l^j)  ^^lkL«  ^ ^j, 


in 


lAj  aLyjj_^  j-jk? 

cJisJ  0'4r?>  d^J  jj 


light-hearted  is  he  who  passes  quickly  from  this  world, 
and  he  who  never  came  into  the  world  is  at  rest. 

125. 

Darvish ! rend  from  thy  body  the  figured  veil,‘ 
rather  than  sacrifice  thy  body  for  the  sake  of  that  veil 
go  and  throw  upon  thy  shoulders  the  old  rug  of  poverty® — 
beneath  that  rug  thou  art  equal  to  a sultan.® 

126. 

Behold  the  evil  conduct  of  this  vault  of  heaven,' 
behold  the  world — empty  by  the  passing  away  of  friends ; ® 


244 


Notes 


3.  Compare  F i 37,  quoted  stth  q 20  L.  reads  this  line,  “ Seek  not  to- 
morrow, leave  yesterday  alone,”  etc.^ 

127. 

This  quatrain  is  P.  330,  B.  ii.  453,  L.  608,  S.  P 339,  B,  601,  N.  342,  and 
W.  381.  F took  from  it  a verse  that  occurs  only  in  his  second  edition,  F.  ii.  65  : 

If  but  the  Vine  and  Love-abjuring  Band 
Are  in  the  Prophet's  Paradise  to  stand. 

Alack,  I doubt  the  Prophet’s  Paradise 
Were  empty  as  the  hollow  of  one’s  Hand. 

1.  Literally,  a circle  or  ring 

2.  P.  and  L.  read  *'  rosy-cheeked  ones.”  ^ 

3.  zerh  here  means  rather  mental  blindness.” 

4.  P.  and  L.  read  this  line,  “ Is  better  than  practising  the  distemper  of 
piety  ” * 

5.  P.  and  L read  this  line,  “If  when  dead  the  wine-drinkers  will  go  to 
hell”^ 

6.  P.  and  L.  read  this  line,  ” Then  who  will  see  the  face  of  heaven  ? ^ 

128. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  393,  B.  ii.  455,  L 5SS,  S P.  341,  B.  581,  N.  344,  and 
W.  3S2. 

I.  Literally,  " the  stone  of  trial.” 


J (^)  P)  (^) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


245 


jsslj  y ^^1^  U 


it'v 


j or* 

c5"^»J!;j  c3-»5  “^b 

4a.<.>w«J 


It'A 

id'^r^J-^  (^-  );jL-&  Jj 

vr-0.a.*  l^^XaivJ 


64 

as  far  as  thou  art  able  live  for  thyself  for  one  moment, 

look  not  for  to-morrow,  seek  not  yesterday,  behold  the  present ! ® 

127. 

To  drink  wine  and  consort  with  a company’^  of  the  beautiful “ 
is  better  than  practising  the  hypocrisy®  of  the  zealot;* 
if  the  lover  and  the  drunkard  are  doomed  to  hell,® 
then  no  one  will  see  the  face  of  heaven.® 

128. 

One  cannot  consume  one’s  happy  heart  with  sorrow, 
nor  consume  the  pleasure  of  one’s  life  upon  the  touchstone ; ^ 

iS 


246 


Notes 


2.  Literally,  “The  person  is  invisible  (absent)  who  knows,”  etc.  L and 
W begin  the  line,  “In  this  world  he  who  knows,”  etc. ; ^ and  C begins,  “In 
the  obligation  of  knowing,”  etc  ^ 

3.  N.  appends  a note,  “ God,”  a good  specimen  of  his  Sufistic  tendency  to 
‘ ‘ whitewash  ’ ’ poor  Omar 


129. 

This  quatrain  is  C 416,  B ii  464,  L.  634,  S.  P.  345,  B 62(5,  N.  348,  W 390, 
and  E C 3,  and  we  recognise  in  it  the  sentiment  of  F.  v.  23 
And  we,  that  now  make  merry  in  the  Room 
They  left,  and  Summer  dresses  in  new  bloom, 

Ourselves  must  we  beneath  the  Couch  of  Earth 
Descend — ourselves  to  make  a Couch — for  whom  ^ 

1.  C begins  with  the  familiar  mai  hhurki,  “ Drink  wine,  for,  for  the  sake,”  etc. 

2.  N for  “Idol  ” reads  “ Come.”  a probable,  but  harmless,  misplacement  of 
the  diacritical  points B.  ii  and  L read  here,  "grasp  the  goblet.”^  C ends  the 
line  “for  many  prayers,” ^ an  error,  I think,  of  the  scribe.  Compare  Gulistan, 
ch  i , story  26 

For  how  many  years  and  long  lives 

Will  the  people  walk  over  my  head  on  the  ground  ; <5 

and  again,  story  15  of  ch  iii 

Wah  1 how — every  time  the  plants  in  the  garden 
Sprouted — glad  became  my  heart  i 
Pass  by,  O Friend ! that  in  the  spring 
Thou  may  St  see  plants  sprouting  from  my  clay  ^ 

i3o« 

This  quatrain  is  C 420.  P.  36.  B.  ii.  460,  L.  624,  S.  P.  348,  B 616,  N.  351, 
and  W.  393,  and  contains,  like  q.  51,  the  germ  of  F.  v.  47,  q.  v.  sul  q.  51. 

I ie.,  “Our  life  is  an  incomplete  thing — where  is  the  rest  of  it?  ” The 
other  texts  for  “essence”  read  “hope”*’  N.  reads  the  line,  “ and  where  is  the 
realisation  of  the  burden  of  our  hopes  in  this  world.” 

(5)  C)  0)  204^  ^ 0) 

jijo  ^ (f>)  jUi 

6^  6^  jJb 

jl|j>  U tAt  1^1 

^ ^ (^)  (®) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


247 


^ 6^  Jj  j J dc^ 


\i'=i 


^ ty^  cji' 
-sJb 

b^iij  ^ ^ ^ <ju<bd  ^ 

o^  jw«j  ^ 


ir. 


^ Iw.  ^Jw*T  )] 


65 

no  one  is  to  be  found  who  knows  what  is  to  be ; ■* 
wine,  and  a loved  one,^  and  to  repose  according  to  one’s  desire, — 
these  things  are  necessary. 

129. 

Ihis  heavenly  vault, ^ for  the  sake  of  my  destruction  and  thine, 
wages  war  upon  my  pure  soul  and  thine; 
sit  upon  the  green  sward,  O my  Idol ! ® for  it  will  not  be  long 
ere  that  green  sward  shall  grow  from  my  dust  and  thine. 

130- 

What  profits  it,  our  coming  and  going? 

and  where  is  the  woof  for  the  warp  of  the  stuff  of  our  life?^ 

1 8-^2 


V I 

** 

1 ! 


juu 


Notes 


2.  Literally,  " so  many  delicate  hands  and  feet." 

3.  The  other  texts  (except  B.  ii.,  which  is  identical)  read  this  line.  " Beneath 
the  circle  of  the  heavens,  how  many  pure  bodies  " 1 (P.,  L.,  and  W.,  “ souls  " s). 


131. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  443,  P.  296,  B.  ii.  480,  L.  670,  S.  P.  356.  B.  662,  N.  359, 
and  W.  426.  It  is,  with  q.  16,  the  source  of  inspiration  of  F.  v.  41,  g.  v.  jw5  q.  16. 

1.  B.  ii.,  C,  and  N.  for  “ all  sciences  " read  “ science  and  piety." 2 

2.  Literally,  “to  hang,  is  best." 

3 For  surahi,  “bottle,"  L.  reads  kanabat,"  ^ flagon,  or  vat;  N.  reads 
a glass  bottle;  P.  reads ; B.  ii.  Te&ds/akth.’f  “ doctor  of  law  " ; 
and  C.  reads  'adwat,^  i “ as  much  blood  as  you  can.", 


132. 

This  quatrain  is  P.  300,  B.  ii.  482,  L 654,  S.  P.  361,  B.  646.  N 364,  and 
W.  409,  and  does  not  vary.  The  freedom  of  N.’s  translation  amounts  to  licence. 


M*  0 (“)  (^) 


(^) 


(*) 


j (=) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


249 


\r‘\ 


“4  i^ji (*>^  o^J'^ 
aj  t— fiJ^ 

>i)lj  uuJji*  ^^j)j>j>  ob 

D^  oy-^  ^ 


irr 


dJ  dl  J)  id 

&vdS  ^ l£:>  j 


66 

How  many  delicate  bodies^  the  world ^ 

burns  away  to  dust!  and  where  is  the  smoke  of  them? 

131- 

Flee  from  the  study  of  all  sciences^ — ’tis  better  thus, 
and  twine  thy  fingers'*  in  the  curly  locks  of  a loved  one — ’tis 
better  thus, 

ere  that  fate  shall  spill  thy  blood; 

pour  thou  the  blood  of  the  bottle®  into  the  cup — ’tis  better  thus. 

132. 

Ah  I I have  brushed  the  tavern  doorway  with  my  moustaches, 
I have  bidden  farewell  to  the  good  and  evil  of  both  worlds ; 


250 


Notes 


I.  i , at  my  feet.  Note  the  vowel  points  in  the  text  to  make  the  meaning 
dear  Cf  M , 1.  3224  • “ When  he  has  drunk  a little  of  this  wine  he  will  forget 
the  two  worlds."* 


133- 

This  quatrain  is  C 442,  B.  ii.  478.  L 672,  S.  P.  355,  B.  664,  N.  35S,  and 
W 404. 

I For  "wine"  N reads  " gladness, and  L reads  "rectitude,"'-*  which 
W.  thinks  is  a gloss  by  a Sufi  scribe. 

2.  Literally,  "shortness — deficiency." 

3.  The  other  texts  read  this  line,  "Wine  also  from  the  hand  of  Idols  in  a 
pavilion,  is  best  " ^ 

4.  Kalendars  [with  whom  we  are  familiar  in  the  pages  of  the  "Arabian 
Nights")  are  "a  kind  of  itinerant  Muhammadan  monk  with  shaven  head  and 
beard,  who  abandon  everything,  wife,  friends,  and  possessions,  and  wander  about 
the  world  " (Steingass).  W.  calls  them  "bibulous  Sufis."  The  term  has  come  to 
be  applied  to  persons  who  have  abandoned  all  respectability  Compare  R.  B.  M 
Binning  {uide  note  2,  p.  xxv.),  vol.  ii.,  pp.  72-3,  for  an  accurate  account  of  these 
mendicants.  An  extract  will  suffice.  "They  lay  claim  to  great  sanctity,  and 
pretend  to  be  inspired,  while  their  profession  of  holiness,  self-denial,  and  austerity 
of  life  is  often  a mere  cloak  for  all  manner  of  profligacy  and  villainy  " 

5.  This  means  "continually";  literally,  "from  the  Moon-month  to  the 
Fish-month  " indh  is  the  Moon,  and  7ndhi,  the  sign  Pisces,  upon  which,  according 
to  the  Persian  cosmogony,  the  world  is  supposed  to  rest.  All  Persian  poetry  is 
full  of  references  to  this  condition  of  things.  Vide  {e.g,)  in  M.  alone,  11.  38,  48.  640, 
etfassim. 


134. 

This  quatrain  is  C 435,  P.  34,  B.  ii.  481,  L.  657,  S.  P.  360,  B.  649,  N.  363, 
and  W.  408,  and  from  this  and  q 134  we  get  F.  v.  72 ; 

And  that  inverted  Bowl  they  call  the  Sky, 

Whereunder,  crawling  coop’d  we  live  and  die, 

Lift  not  your  hands  to  lx  for  help — for  it 
As  impotently  moves  as  you  or  I 

cy.  M , 11.  145  and  2290,  which  probably  gave  F.  his  first  idea  of  this  quatrain. 
(Terminal  Essay,  p.  30S.) 


0**^  ) r*  •/"  (*)  (®)  0) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


251 


V 


^ y- 


\rr 


{iJ 


sli^J 


<SJ  ^ isL»^  tSAj 


\rp 


ajlxil  ^1 

aJUil 


though  both  the  worlds  should  fall  like  balls  in  my  street/ 
seek  me, — ^ye  will  find  me  sleeping  like  a drunkard. 


133- 

From  everything  save  wine‘  abstinence  “ is  best, 

and  that  wine  is  best  when  served  by  drunken  beauties  in  a pavilion,’ 

drinking,  and  Kalendarism,^  and  erring,  are  best, 

one  draught  of  wine  from  Mah  to  Mahi  ® is  best. 


134- 

This  heavenly  vault  is  like  a bowl,  fallen  upside  down, 
under  which  all  the  wise  have  fallen  captive. 


252 


Notes 


I.  i.e.,  Wine  has  been  poured  from  the  bottle  into  the  cup.  Blood  is,  in 
Perian  literature,  a synonym  of  hatred,  and  in  composition  **kh  n uftddan  lay  htss  ” 
is  to  revenge  oneself 

X35- 

This  quatrain  is  B ii.  483,  L 671,  S P.  366,  B.  663,  N.  370,  and  W,  414,  and 
we  find  in  it  the  source  of  the  first  distich  of  F.  v.  g : 

Each  Morn  a thousand  Roses  brings,  you  say; 

Yes,  but  where  leaves  the  Rose  of  Yesterday? 

F.  i.  8 is  closer  to  the  original : 

And  look — a thousand  Blossoms  with  the  Day 
Woke — and  a thousand  scatter'd  into  Clay; 
and  also  F.  v.  14 : 

Look  to  the  blowing  Rose  about  us — "Lo, 

Laughing,”  she  says,  "into  the  world  I blow. 

At  once  the  silken  tassel  of  my  Purse 
Tear,  and  its  Treasure  on  the  Garden  throw.” 

1.  ie  t the  petals.  N translates  aptly  but  freely,  " See  how  the  zephyr 
has  caused  the  roses  to  open  ” De  Sacy  quotes  (P  N.,  p.  309)  an  ode  of  Shahi  in 
which  the  following  occurs  " Since  the  zephyr  has  brought  to  the  rose  the 
perfume  of  thy  fame,  she  has  torn  the  skirt  of  purple  which  was  her  glory.”  7 

2.  The  amours  of  the  Nightingale  and  the  Rose  occur  redundantly  in  all 
Persian  literature.  Vtde  note  to  q.  67.  A volume  might  be  filled  with  such  quota- 
tions ; two  will  sujB&ce  here— one  from  Sa’adi : 

The  Spring  is  delightful,  oh  Rose,  where  hast  thou  been? 

Dost  thou  not  hear  the  lamentations  of  the  Nightingales  on  account  of  thy  delay  ? ^ 
and  one  from  Jalal-ud-din  in  the  Ruz-bahar : 

While  the  Nightingale  sings  thy  praises  with  a loud  voice 
I am  all  ear,  like  the  Rose-tree.^ 

3 B.  ii,,  N and  W read  " for  many  times  these  roses  ” ^ L.  reads  the  line  : 
"Make  haste!  drink  wine,  for  oh,  how  many  roses  (there  are)  that,  by  the 
wind."  ^ 

4.  N.  and  W.  read  " have  sprung  from  earth  and  (again)  been  scattered  to 
earth. "s  L.  reads  "have  been  scattered  to  earth  and  have  become  dust."  ^ 
Cf.  hiferno,  iii.  112 . "si  levan  le  foglie  I'una  appresso  dell’  altra,  infin  che  ’1  ramo 
rende  alia  terra  tutte  le  sue  spoglie  " 

136. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  504  and  B.  ii.  484  ending  inye,  P.  207,  L.  740  inye,  C.  427, 
S.  P.  362,  B.  726,  N.  366,  and  W.  411 ; it  does  not  vary,  and  it  is  the  original  of 
one  of  the  quatrains  that  occur  only  in  F.'s  second  edition,  F.  ii.  14 : 

Were  it  not  folly,  spider-like  to  spin 
The  Thread  of  present  Life  away  to  win — 

What  ? for  ourselves,  who  know  not  if  we  shall 
Breathe  out  the  very  Breath  we  now  breathe  in ! 

S ^ (0 

Oj  Is 

.slU.  j\  (^)  JST  aoU  (^)  tjil  6^  (3^ 

i£llG>  y^  ji  (^)  jj  ^ ji 

[JH y^  e)*  ji  V ^ oIj  jl 


Transcript  and  Translation 


253 


6ijUj)  <-r-J 


\]-6 

^ W-<0 

iSiX£i>  ^ J 

^iuXio  bj  <5;xij  Jji 


in 

<Sjli  c^IJ  £^  ^Jy^. 

choose  thou  the  manner  of  friendship  of  the  goblet  and  the  jar, 
tiny  an  lip  to  lip,  and  blood  has  fallen  between  them.* 

135- 

See,  the  skirt*  of  the  rose  has  been  torn  by  the  breeze, 
the  nightingale  rejoices  in  the  beauty  of  the  rose ; “ 
sit  in  the  shade  of  the  rose,  for,  by  the  wind,  many  roses  ® 
have  been  scattered  to  earth  and  have  become  dust.‘ 

136. 

How  long  shall  I grieve  about  what  I have  or  have  not, 
and  whether  I shall  pass  this  life  light-heartedly  or  not? 


' ) I •*•  / 


J L^fj 
•• 


} ( 


f’i/ 


* 

m 


J Lji  I j 


68 


254 


Notes 


I Compare  Gulistan,  ch  viii  “ Life  is  in  the  keeping^  of  a single  breath 
Vide  note  to  q.  107. 

137 

This  quatrain  is  P.  218,  B.  ii.  485,  L.  643,  S P.  363,  B 635,  N 367,  and 
W.  412.  We  get  in  it  an  echo  of  F v 22  . 

For  some  we  loved,  the  loveliest  and  the  best, 

That  from  his  Vintage  rolling  Time  hath  prest. 

Have  drunk  their  Cup  a Round  or  two  before, 

And  one  by  one  crept  silently  to  rest. 

1 Literally,  “ do  not  give  thy  body." 

2 N.  and  W read  " thy  soul  " ^ 

3.  N.  reads  “ do  not  remind  thy  soul  of  discourse  " ^ 

4 Persian  is  full  of  these  compound  attributes  B ii.,  N and  W read 
"sugar-lipped,"’'*  and  L reads  "curly-headed.”^  Cf  Lala  rukh,  tulip- 
cheeked, and  gul  andcim/  rose-bodied. 


138. 

This  quatrain  is  P 236,  B ii  486,  L 647,  S,  P 359,  B.  639,  N 362,  and 
W.  407 

I,  Literally,  " lay  it  not  aside."  N and  W.  read  this  line,  " do  not 
calculate  the  measure  of  your  life,"  etc  ® P.and  L for  "measure  " read  "anxiety.” 
These  readings  are  preferable  to  that  of  this  MS.,  which  has  only  age  to 
recommend  it 


r-  (*)  (*)  t)*-  (*)  0) 

iAm  .IT 


- 6j  (®) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


255 


6^  (fi  J Ij  C*^  J‘^ 

‘Sjii  i»j!  ^ (•‘i 


irv 


1,3 ^ o 
fijw*  jLj  \j\ — ^ 

e,^  y^  J.J 


irA 


<Jj^  (.a.* ift‘'  J)1  & >i  lij) 

,U.>*  < ••  »,««»<« 


Fill  up  the  wine-cup,  for  I do  not  know 

that  I shall  breathe  out  this  breath  that  I am  drawing  in.‘ 

137- 

Submit  not'  to  the  sorrow  of  this  iniquitous  world, 
remind  us®  not  of  sorrow’  for  those  who  have  passed  away, 
give  thine  heart  only  to  one  jasmine-bosomed  * and  fairy-born, 
be  not  without  wine,  and  cast  not  thy  life  to  the  winds. 

138. 

Though  thy  life  pass  sixty  years,  do  not  give  up ; ' 
wherever  thou  directest  thy  steps,  walk  not  save  when  drunk; 


69 


256 


Notes 


2.  The  other  texts  (with  the  exception  of  B.  ii ) read  “hair,” ^ which  is  not 
so  good. 

3.  i.e.,  “Before  they  make  thy  head  into  a jar.”  P.  reads  "Before 
they  make  thy  head  and  dust  into  jars."  ® 

4.  The  other  texts  (with  the  exception  of  B ii ) begin  the  line,  “ Go 
thou  ! “ 3 L reads  " Go,  sell^  the  jar,  and  do  not  let  go  the  cup." 


139- 

This  quatrain  is  P.  246,  B.  ii.  511,  L.  650,  S.  P.  378,  B.  642,  N.  382,  and 
does  not  vary.  Compare  q 85,  and  vide  the  note  to  that  quatrain 

1.  Literally,  " From  whatever  is  not  wine  let  the  road  out  be  best  ” 

2.  Feridun  was  the  sixth  King  of  the  Paish-dadian  dynasty  of  Persian  rulers. 
He  was  the  son  of  Abten,  and  was  elevated  to  the  throne  by  the  exertions  of  the 
heroic  blacksmith  Kaf  (or  Kawah)  after  the  overthrow  of  the  tyrant  Zohuk. 

3.  Kai-Khosru  was  the  grandson  of  Kai-KiLwus  (the  Greek  Cyaxares). 
He  was  identical  with  Cyrus  the  Mede  of  Greek  history,  and  was  the  most  bril- 
liant of  all  the  kings  of  the  Kaianian  dynasty.  He  conquered  and  killed  Afrasiab, 
extended  the  kingdom  of  Persia  to  Syria,  Asia  Minor,  and  Egypt,  and  be- 
came a personage  of  occidental  history  by  his  conquest  of  Babylon  and  subse- 
quent manumission  of  the  Jews  there  in  captivity.  (Compare  Isaiah,  ch.  xliv., 
V.  28,  and  ch.  xlv.,  v.  i.)  See  Sir  John  Malcolm’s  "History  of  Persia”  (2nd 
edition;  London,  1829;  Murray)  and  Sir  Clements  R.  Markham’s  “General 
Sketch  of  the  History  of  Persia  ” (London,  1874). 

Compare  Hafiz  : “ When  Hafiz  is  drunk,  why  should  he  value  at  a grain  of 
barley  the  Empires  of  Kawus  and  Kai?  ” ^ 


140. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  453,  P.  260,  B.  ii.  525,  L.  687,  S.  P.  380,  B 678,  N.  384, 
W.  428,  and  probably  inspired  F.  v,  26.  Compare  also  C.  127  (L.  261,  P.  86, 
B.  25S,  W.  209,  N.  464),  which  is  a corresponding  quatrain: 

“ Why,  all  the  Saints  and  Sages  who  discuss’d 
Of  the  Two  Worlds  so  wisely — they  are  thrust 
Like  foolish  Prophets  forth;  their  Words  to  scorn 
Are  scatter’d,  and  their  Mouths  are  stopt  with  Dust.” 

I.  B,  ii.  and  C.  read  “ in  the  slumber,”  etc.'^ 


(0 


Jk  iju.'  (6) 


e)  e)  (1) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


257 


dj  y lsAL*^  Jdi:>^  tMj 

^Ij  J-*o  tSAL*  ^1  di 

^ -.5-)^®*^  ^ «*i-^  ca..  A,;r;uc> 


iP. 


^U  ^1  03)  <tei;  i^bT 

s?®^  s?'  jjI  dxAc^ 


before  they  make  the  hollow®  of  thy  skull  into  a jar,^ 

lower  not  the  jar  from  thy  shoulder,  neither  relinquish  the  cup.^ 

139- 

One  draught  of  old  wine  is  better  than  a new  kingdom, 
avoid  any  way  save  that  of  wine — ’tis  better  so ; ^ 
the  cup  is  a hundred  times  better  than  the  kingdom  of  Ferldun,® 
the  tile  that  covers  the  jar  is  better  than  the  crown  of  Kai- 
Khosru.® 

140, 

Those,  O Saki,  who  have  gone  before  us, 

have  fallen  asleep,  O Saki,  in  the  dust  ^ of  self-esteem  ; 


70 


258 


Notes 


141 

This  quatrain  is  C.  476,  B.  ii.  527,  L.  703,  S P 384,  B,  693,  and  N 388. 

1.  L.  reads  “You  threw  away  my  rose-coloured  wine  1 upon  the  earth  “ 

2.  khaltm  ha  dihan,  literally,  “ earth  on  my  mouth  ! ''  a frequent  expletive  in 
the  East,  hhhtsk-ha-dihan,  “ may/zf  perish,”  etc. 

3 turf  a = strange,  incomprehensible,  new,  etc  The  other  texts  are  easier 
to  render  ; they  read,  “ Perhaps  you  are  drunk,  my  lord  ' ” 2 

4 B li.  reads  “ tulip-coloured  ” for  “ pure  ” 


142. 

This  quatrain  is  P.  339  and  B ii  530,  and  is  found  by  W.  only  here, 
and  as  L.  728  (W.  492). 

I.  L , for  “baths”  and  “canals,”  reads  “all  capital  ” and  “courtyards”® 
B ii.  also  reads  “ courtyards,” 


Transcript  and  Translation 


259 


ta-JLSea,^  J|jC»  a^ilj 
(^1  iiil  isJiS  »■-  1 1 


IPI 


— >}  b cT*  ^ 

\j^  ^Ld.  ji 


\'PV 


S?*'^  bo-'ir-^  <U* 

j dj  l_^ 


go  thou  and  drink  wine,  and  hear  the  truth  from  me 
whatever  they  have  said,  O Saki,  is  but  wind. 

141. 

Thou  hast  broken  my  jug  of  wine,  O Lord ; 

Thou  hast  shut  upon  me  the  door  of  happiness,  O Lord ; 
thou  hast  spilled  my  pure*  wine  upon  the  earth;* 
may  1 perish ! ^ but  thou  art  strange,*  0 Lord ! 

142. 

O heaven!  thou  givest  something  to  every  base  creature 
thou  suppliest  baths,  and  millstreams,  and  canals ; * 


26o 


Notes 


2.  Literally,  " the  evening  loaf.” 

3-  literally,  " quickly.” 

4.  L.’s  concluding  distich  varies  a good  deal,  but  I think  it  is  corrupt : 

" The  free  man  cleans  out  his  money-bags  and  lays  out  his  shop ; 
Perhaps  he  may  reap  profit  from  this  heaven.”  1 


143- 

This  quatrain  is  C.  495,  P.  209,  B.  ii.  529,  L.  733,  S.  P.  379,  B.  721,  N.  383, 
W.  427,  and  it  is  virtually  invariable.  It  would  seem  to  have  inspired  F.  v.  62 
(which  made  its  first  appearance  as  F.  ii.  64) ; 

I must  abjure  the  Balm  of  Life,  I must. 

Scared  by  some  After-reckoning  ta'en  on  trust, 

Or  lured  with  Hope  of  some  Diviner  Drink, 

To  fill  the  Cup — ^when  crumbled  into  Dust  1 


144. 

This  quatrain  is  B.  ii.  569,  L.  710,  S.  P.  392,  B.  700,  N.  397,  and  W.  439. 
Compare  also  C.  40  (L.  63,  W.  57,  B.  60,  N.  34,  S.  P.  54),  which  is  a corresponding 
quatrain. 


I.  i.f.,  “From  the  scheme  of  the  universe  you  suffer  only  hardships.” 


Ou^  O Mi 


Transcript  and  Translation 


261 


c)^ 

'y^  liUj  yi  JjLSs 


\fr 

)L>  ^■^■* 

^ far  «<»■  niiii.*4>Uwi^J  dt^  1^3 


\r^ 


<ujc»  y ij^  jl 


73 

the  pure  man  plays  hazard  for  his  night’s  provisions : ^ 
thou  shouldst  give  readily " for  such  a heaven  ? 

143- 

O heart ! at  the  mysterious  secret  thou  arrivest  not, 

at  the  conceits  of  the  ingenious  philosophers  thou  arrivest  not ; 

make  thyself  a heaven  here  with  wine  and  cup, 

for  at  that  place  where  heaven  is,  thou  mayst  arrive,  or  mayst  not. 

144. 

Thou  eatest  always  smoke  from  the  kitchen  of  the  world  ; 
how  long  wilt  thou  suffer  miseries  concerning  what  is  or  is  not? 

19 


t t"/ 

I I ; 


c-T-r  • i/  • ' ^ 

‘(y  joy 
•• 


jC>>h 


262 


Notes 


2.  In  the  other  texts  (excepting  B.  ii , which  varies  a little  only  in  1.  3) 
the  last  two  lines  vary  much • ‘‘The  world  is  a grievous  detriment  for  those  who 
inhabit  it , renounce  this  detriment  and  everything  becomes  profitable  for  you  " 1 


145 

This  quatrain  is  C 447,  P.  in,  B.  ii  523,  L.  707,  S P.  389,  B 697,  N 394, 
W 436,  and  is  the  seventh  of  E.  C.’s  examples.  It  is  the  original  of  F.  v 44  : 

Why,  if  the  Soul  can  fling  the  Dust  aside, 

And  naked  on  the  Air  of  Heaven  ride, 

Were't  not  a Shame — ^were’t  not  a Shame  for  him 
In  this  Clay  carcase  crippled  to  abide  ^ 

This  quatrain  of  F.  made  its  first  appearance  in  the  poem  proper  as  F ii  49,  in  he 
form  in  which  it  appeared  in  the  Preface  to  F.  i.  ■ 

Oh,  if  my  Soul  can  fling  his  Dust  aside, 

And  naked  on  the  air  of  Heaven  ride, 

Is’t  not  a Shame — ^is't  not  a Shame  for  Him 
So  long  in  this  Clay  Suburb  to  abide  ^ 

Cf,  M.,  11.  126-7;  “The  soul’s  portion  was  elevation,  and  the  body’s  terrestrial 
degradation  ; a mixture  of  vile  earth  and  pure  spirit  was  formed  ” 

1.  C.  and  N.  read  '■  griefs for  "dust,"  and  for  “body’  B ii  and 
L.  use  the  commoner  word 

2.  Literally,  '*  thou  becomest  upon  the  heavens  " 

3 ie , The  heavenly  sphere  in  general 

4 C,  uses  the  words  “ thou  adornest."^ 

5.  E.  C.  translates  in  a city  of  clay"  ; but  even  “suburb  " is  better.  The 
Arabic  word  khittat  means  essentially  a "boundary  " or  “confine  " 


146. 

This  quatrain  is  C.  480,  P.  106,  B ii  539,  L 706,  S P.  399,  B.  G96,  N.  404, 
and  W 446.  It  is  another  of  the  quatrains  in  which  the  idea  recurs  of  the 
despised  clay  or  jug  warning  its  contemner  of  the  transient  nature  of  human  life. 

I Literally,  “ I was  head-happy."  The  other  texts  read,  “ I was  drunk."  ^ 

2.  aubdsh  signifies  the  mob,  the  common  herd.  E.  C.  translates,  “ And  at 
the  reckless  freak  my  heart  was  glad,"  which  is  strangely  free  for  so  conscientious 
a scholar 


1#;^  U*>  ^ jjy  / 

^ (6)  (*)  (3)  ^ (2) 


Transcript  a/iid  Translation 


263 


ipa 


u^yii  ^\  fV~«^  jW^j  J‘J 

(^jSD  ^Ail  CV 

IjLj  y y*t:^ 


\t“'l 


<^yt^  |*»i^ 

f'ljy 


73 

thou  desirest  not  a stock  in  trade,  for  its  source  weakens, 
and  who  will  consume  the  capital,  seeing  that  thou  consumest 
all  the  profit  ? ® 

145- 

0 soul ! if  thou  canst  purify  thyself  from  the  dust  of  the  body,* 
thou,  naked  spirit,  canst  soar  in  the  heavens, “ 

the  Empyrean  “ is  thy  sphere,— let  it  be  thy  shame, 

that  thou  comest^  and  art  a dweller  within  the  confines®  of  earth. 

146. 

1 smote  the  glass  wine-cup  upon  a stone  last  night, 
my  head  was  turned*  that  I did  so  base  a thing;* 


19 — 2 


264 


Notes 


3»  4 Vide  ante,  passim 


147. 

I  find  this  quatrain  only  in  P 263,  and  in  a varied  form  as  L.  722  (B,  71 1). 
It  is  a matter  for  comment  that  so  careful  and  discriminating  a collator  as  W 
should  have  omitted  so  characteristic  a quatrain. 

1 Literally,  “ hold  up.”  L reads 

2 Literally,  ‘‘heart-seeking,  or  heart-desired  ” 

3 This  duplicated  adverb  is  a common  form  of  Persian  superlative 

4 The  second  and  third  lines  in  L.  read  : 

“ Cheerfully  seek  the  verdant  spot  and  the  bank  of  the  stream, 

For  this  vault  of  heaven  out  of  the  moon-like  faces  of  idols,”  etc.“ 


148 

This  quatrain  is  B,  ii  546,  and  is  W.  432,  taken  from  this.  In  a variant 
form  it  is  N.  390,  not  in  S P.)  It  contains  the  inspiration  for  F v.  80 

Oh  Thou,  who  didst  with  pitfall  and  with  gin 
Beset  the  Road  I was  to  wander  in, 

Thou  wilt  not  wnth  Predestined  Evil  round 
Enmesh,  and  then  impute  my  Fall  to  Sin  1 

A very  similar  passage  occurs  in  the  Mesnevi  of  Jellal-ud-din  Rumi  (book  i, 
ch  vi),  in  the  story  of  the  Caliph  Omar  and  the  Ambassador,  which  elaborates 
this  theory  of  predestination 

That  same  Destiny,  though  it  should  an  hundred  times  waylay  thee 
Will  (one  day)  strike  a pavilion  for  thee  in  the  highest  vault  of  heaven.® 

W.  432  (edition  1883)  was  retained  as  No.  241  in  his  edition  of  1893  ; but  it 
appears  to  have  taken  the  place  of  one  No  224  in  his  original  edition  of  1882. 
This  was  as  follows . 

Thou  dost  with  frequent  snare  beset  the  way, 

The  Pilgrim’s  wandering  footsteps  to  betray, 

And  all  poor  wretches  tangled  in  thy  snares 
Dost  seize  as  prisoners  and  as  rebels  slay. 

This  edition  gives  no  original  text,  but  this  verse  is  a good  parallel  to  F ’s 
quatrain,  and  is  so  quoted  by  D. 

I N.  reads  this  line,  “ On  every  side  thou  hast  placed  two  hundred 
snares  * 

2.  N.  and  W read,  “ It  isyowy  loss  if,"  etc.^ 

^ (^)  (^) 

39J  ^ (Sh  ‘"AT*  j 

lAiJi  j\i  ^ 

iAJj  usUi  jiji  ji 

(®)  ^1  JO  jB  JO  (*) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


265 


cT*  y y 

IPV 

, S?'  J J>\>iji 

‘i/  Ui>^  Jiy*. 

J »3y-0 

\PA 

j*1j  L^  j\j — as  ji 

1*^  J^\ 

the  cup  said  to  me  in  mystic  language/ 

I was  like  thee,  and  thou  also  wilt  be  like  me.” 

147- 

Grasp  1 the  wine-cup  and  the  flagon,  O heart’s  desire!^ 
pleasantly,  pleasantly,®  and  cheerfully,  wander  in  the  garden 
by  the  river  brink,- 

many  are  the  excellent  folk  whom  malicious  heaven  ^ 
has  made  a hundred  times  into  cups,  and  a hundred  times  into 
flagons. 

148. 

In  a thousand  places  on  the  road  I walk.  Thou  placest  snares,^ 
Thou  sayest,  will  catch  thee®  if  thou  placest  step  in  them^' ; 


266 


Notes 


3.  Literally,  “Not  one  speck  of  the  world  is  free  from  thy  wisdom.” 

4 N.  reads  these  two  lines  : 

Thou  hast  placed  the  snares  thyself,  and  every  one  who  steps  into  them 
Thou  catchest,  and  slayest,  and  callest  a sinner.^ 


149 

This  quatrain  is  S P.  408,  N.  413,  and  W.  452,  and  it  is  No  13  of  E.  C ’s 
examples.  It  is  with  q 155  the  true  and  close  original  of  the  beautiful  F.  v 12  . 

A Book  of  Verses  underneath  the  Bough, 

A Jug  of  Wine,  a Loaf  of  Bread— and  Thou 
Beside  me  singing  in  the  Wilderness — 

Oh,  Wilderness  were  Paradise  enow. 

Compare  qq.  25,  32,  40,  et  fassim. 

1 tiingi  means  also  “ a sack,”  and  W renders  it  “ a skin  of  wine.” 

2.  ditvCin  or  “ divan”  : a collection  of  verses  in  the  alphabetical  order  of  the 
final  letters  of  the  end  rhymes  (Steingass).  Like  this  collection  of  quatrains, 
in  fact 

3 i , a bare  subsistence,  enough  to  keep  life  in  one.  Steingass  renders  the 
phrase,  “ the  last  remains  of  life,  or,  the  agonies  of  death  ” W.  translates  “ a 
moment  of  respite  in  life,”  which  is  hardly  strong  enough.  “A  stopper  of  the 
last  breath  ” would  accurately  render  the  opening  of  the  line 

4 Compare  F v ii,  line  3 . “Where  name  of  Slave  and  Sultan  is  forgot.” 


150 

This  quatrain  is  B ii.  562,  L.  729  and  13  717,  whence  (and  from  here) 
it  becomes  W.  500  It  shares  with  q.  102  the  sentiment  of  F.  v.  42,  q.  v.  sub 
q.  102. 

I.  Literally,  “ live  thou  justly.” 


‘H*  ^ (*10  oy>.  (J-) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


267 


a^itsAj 

(*^  ^ y 

IP'l 

J*3 

^iUaLyo  j,xia^..  .{^ 


\^y, 

K^y  vilk.iLj  y3  oIjwJ  ^l)sJ|^ 


in  no  smallest  thing  is  the  world  independent  of  Thee,^ 

Thou  orderest  all  things,  and  callest  me  rebellious.^ 

149. 

I desire  a little^  ruby  wine  and  a book  of  verses,^ 
just  enough  to  keep  me  alive  “ and  half  a loaf  is  needful ; 
and  then,  that  I and  thou,  should  sit  in  a desolate  place 
is  better  than  the  kingdom  of  a sultan.^ 

150- 

Do  not  give  way  so  much  to  vain  grief, — live  happily, 
and,  in  the  way  of  injustice,  set  thou  an  example  of  justice,^ 


75 


268 


Noies 


2 Literally,  *' business.” 


151 

This  quatrain  is  C 485,  B.  ii.  557.  L 713,  S P.  415,  B.  702,  N.  420,  and 
W.  459 

1.  Literally,  ” as  often  as  I ga2e.” 

2.  ravan-ist  is  an  obscure  phrase  in  this  place.  It  may  mean  as  rendered 
here,  or  " there  is  life  from  the  stream  Kausar."  The  other  texts  begin  the  line, 
" There  is  heavenly  verdure  and  the  stream  Kausar 

3-  Kausar,  in  Persian  mythology,  is  the  head-stream  of  the  Muhammadan 
Paradise,  whence  all  other  rivers  are  supposed  to  flow.  A whole  chapter  of  the 
Qur'an  is  devoted  to  this  miraculous  stream  The  bed  is  formed  of  gems,  its 
water  is  whiter  than  milk,  fresher  than  snow,  sweeter  than  sugar,  more  perfumed 
than  musk,  mtcy  aha.  The  cup-bearer  charged  with  the  duty  of  serving  the 
blessed  with  this  water  in  silver  cups  is  Ali,  the  son-in-law  of  Muhammad. 
Cf  M.,  11  445  to  456,  " The  Praise  of  Ali  ” 

4 hem  gufian  is  “to  abandon,  or  consider  as  lost  ” B.  ii.,  N and  W 
omit  the  word  hem  The  line  refers  to  Winter  being  transformed  into  Spring,  as 
Hell  might  be  replaced  by  Heaven.  Mr.  Binning  (loc.  cit.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  185) 
observes  upon  the  garden  of  Kohrood,  “the  Shahzadah  called  it  hihisht ; but 
water  and  trees  are  such  rarities  in  this  kingdom  that  any  place  in  which  these 
are  to  be  found  in  abundance  is  Paradise  to  a Persian  ” 

5 Uhlshti-nn,  an  oriental  exaggeration  for  a beautiful  person 


152 

This  quatrain  is  C 473,  B,  ii.  564,  L 702  (not  in  B ),  and  W 489.  It 
contains  the  inspiration  of  F.  v.  74 . 

Yesterday  This  Day's  Madness  did  prepare; 

To-morrow  s Silence,  Triumph,  or  Despair ; 

Drink ! for  you  know  not  whence  you  came,  nor  why : 

Drink ! for  you  know  not  why  you  go,  nor  where. 

I Literally,  “they  matured— they  cooked.”  Vide  q.  117,  1.  4. 

2.  Literally,  “ profit,  interest  on  capital  ” 

3.  Compare  Beharistiin,  ist  Garden. 

Thy  share  has  been  allotted  to  thee  from  all  Eternity; 

How  long  wilt  thou  distress  thyself  for  a livelihood. 

4.  aman  shudan  means  “to  be  in  safety — secure  from” 

5.  L.  reads  “thy  clamour.*' ^ 


Transcript  and  Translation 


269 


S?J~i  i)T^  <J_S^  ^ L-^Lj  I 

1*1 


^ ^ al^j 
yy-^)  ui-.vJlj>^  ^L_j 

O}'^  J>  ^ l^a.^ 


Since  the  final  end’  of  this  world  is  nothingness ; 
suppose  thyself  to  be  nothing,  and  be  free. 

^ ^51.  ' 

Gaze  as  I may’  on  all  sides, 

m the  garden  flows’  a stream  from  the  river  Kausar,’ 
the  desert  becomes  like  heaven,  thou  mayst  say  hell  has 
disappeared,** 

sit  thou  then  in  heaven  with  one  heavenly-faced,® 

152. 

Be  happy ! they  settled’  thy  reward  ’ yesterday,' 

and  beyond  the  reach  of^  all  thy  longings®  is  yesterday; 


t/r" 

■J 


j i^ij 


^ hj  ^y> 


76 


270 


Notes 


6,  Literally,  “your  to-morrow's  business."  L reads  "the  place  of  your 
tomb  to-morrow 


153 

This  quatrain  is  C.  49S,  P.  334,  B.  ii  570,  L.  693,  S.  P 422,  B.  6S4,  N.  437, 
and  W.  464.  It  is  also  L 739,  the  only  repetition  that  I have  noticed  in  that  text. 

1.  Here  we  have  la'l,  meaning  the  colour  red,  instead  of  the  "ruby  " gem ; 
t,e.,  " ruby  " wine,  reinforced  by  " tulip-coloured." 

2.  L.  for  " pure  " ends  the  line  like  the  first,  di  sdM. 

3.  L.  for  " pure  " in  this  line  uses  the  common  word  pdk^^  and  ends  the  line 
as  before,  dl  sdki. 


154- 

I do  not  find  this  quatrain  in  any  of  the  texts  under  consideration.  We  find 
in  it  the  idea  of  F.  v.  72,  quoted  q 134  (q,  v.),  which  contains  the  inspiration 
for  the  remainder  of  F.'s  quatrain.  Compare  q.  41. 

I.  ka::d,  fate,  fatality. 


(*) 


(1) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


271 


^ (Si  kiU# 


\6r 

^^'— =■  o»^  (3*^  ^5^ 

l_^  |.U^j 


i£>f 

^L^,  t-SALi  ut^  j*)>i  j3»^ 

^)>  >i>j  las 

77 

live  happily,  for  without  any  importunity  on  thy  part  yesterday, 
they  appointed  with  certainty  what  thou  wilt  do  to-morrow,® — 
yesterday ! 

153- 

Pour  out  the  red  wine  of  pure  tulip  colour,' 
draw  the  pure  blood  “ from  the  throat  of  the  jar, 
for  to-day,  beside  the  wine-cup,  there  is  not,  for  me, 
one  friend  who  possesses  a pure®  heart. 

134- 

To  the  ear  of  my  heart  Heaven  whispered  secretly: — 

“The  commands  that  are  decreed’  thou  mayst  learn  from  me: 


272 


Notes 


2.  Compare  Gulistan,  Introduction 

Cloud,  and  wind,  and  moon,  and  sun,  move  in  the  sky. 

That  thou  mayst  gain  bread,  and  not  eat  it  unconcerned, 

F or  thee  all  are  revolving  and  obedient, 

It  is  against  the  requirements  of  justice  if  thou  obeyest  not.i 


155- 

This  quatrain  is  C 474,  P.  229,  B.  ii.  591,  L.  697,  S P 442,  B.  68S,  N.  44S, 
andW.  479  Compare  q.  149,  which  is  identical  in  sentiment  and  idea,  and  with 
this  quatrain  gives  us  the  original  of  F.  v,  12,  q.  v.  stih  q.  149 

1 dast  dada>t=to  happen,  or,  come  to  pass. 

2 B.  ii , L.,  N.,  and  W read  “two  mens  of  wine.’’-  Vide  q,  77,  note 
and  q 104,  note  5.  Mm  (or  mann)  is  a variable  measure  The  mcn-i-tabnsi^ 
equals  about  7J  lbs.,  the  men-i-shdhl^  equals  144-15  lbs  . the  men-t-ral^  equals 
30  lbs  , and  the  men-i-shdhiml^  equals  ir6  lbs.  Herrick  uses  the  term  twice  to 
indicate  a measure.  Cf.  ’ (Hesperides  * To  Anthea). 

Behold  for  us  the  Naked  Graces  stay. 

With  maunds  of  roses  for  to  strew  the  way. 

And  again : 

There,  filling  maunds  with  cowslips,  you 
May  find  your  Amaryllis, 

(76.,  a Dialogue.) 

3 P.,  N , and  W read  “ with  a tulip-cheeked  one  sitting,’’  etc.,^  and  C and 
L.,  “ with  a moon-faced  one.”  ^ 

4,  C reads  “ That  would  be  a luxury,  fit  pastime  for  any  sultan.”  ° L.  reads 
“ It  is  a luxury  the  proceeding  of  any  sultan 


156. 

This  quatrain  is  C 469,  B.  ii.  589,  L 694,  S.  P 441.  B 6S5,  N 447,  and  W.  478. 
Whether  by  accident  or  by  design,  it  seems  to  be  connected  with  the  preceding 
ruba’i,  which  is  rare  in  a dlwan  arrangement 

flwLsuS*  j\  &4jb 

^ ^ t *1.^1  Is 

>3}  is)-*  (*)  Id—*  (®)  1/-  ,/•  ji  (^) 

iu.li  (»)  eU  (8)  JSJS  1;  (7)  ^(6) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


273 


\bt 

j*Js^  ^ 

^b  j)i 

as.w^  y_j  d^l^ 

IkLid  ^ ii  ^ ^A.  .jr-. 

\t>'^ 

tjiiJoT  «-^JsJ  tsA))^  ^ 

S?^'  jjb^  j»y  ^ 

had  I a hand  in  my  own  revolutions/ 

I would  have  saved  myself  from  giddiness.” 

155- 

If  a loaf  of  wheaten-bread  be  forthcoming/ 
a gourd  of  wine/  md  a thigh-bone  of  mutton, 
and  then,  if  thou  “ and  I be  sitting  in  the  wilderness,—- 
that  would  be  a joy  to  which  no  sultan  can  set  bounds.'* 

156. 

If  henceforth  two  measures  of  wine  come  to  thy  hand, 
drink  thou  wine  in  every  assembly  and  congregation, 


274 


Notes 


1.  N.  and  W.  read  "for  he  who  acts  thus/’ ^ eliminating  the  reference 
to  God. 

2.  Literally,  “ has  freedom  from  care  " — "leisure.” 

3.  A good  specimen  of  oriental  imagery.  W.  translates  " from  saintly  airs 
like  yours,  or  grief  like  mine  " N translates  "he  is  spared  the  unpleasantness  ot 
seeing  moustaches  like  yours,”  etc.  C/.  M.,  1.  2955 

157- 

This  quatrain  is  C.  494,  P.  88.  B ii.  590,  L.  732,  B.  720,  W.  490,  and  it 

i.s  No.  30  of  E.  C 's  examples  B ii.  593,  N.  450  (S  P 444)  is  a paraphrase  of  it 
We  recognise  in  it  the  sentiment  of  F,  v 99 : 

Ah  Love  I could  you  and  I with  Him  conspire 
To  grasp  this  sorry  Scheme  of  Things  entire, 

Would  we  not  shatter  it  to  bits — and  then 
Remould  it  nearer  to  the  Heart’s  desire  ! 

The  quatrain  in  N.  runs  : 

If  I were  free  and  could  use  my  own  volition, 

And  independent  of  the  griefs  of  Fate  and  of  good  and  bad. 

It  were  better  that  in  this  hole  of  depravity 
I had  neither  come,  nor  gone,  nor  lived  2 

Orientalists  will  recognise  here  a coarseness,  common  in  oriental  literature,  but 
very  rare  in  Omar  Khayyam. 

1 Literally,  if  my  coming  was  by  me  ’’ 

2 'alayn-i-kliakt  the  world,  or,  the  human  body.  C , P.,  and  L.  read  " in 
this  ruined  monastery.”’* 


158 

This  quatrain  (which,  ending  in  d,  is  out  of  its  diwan  order)  is  W.  218, 
taken  from  this  MS.  P 190,  B.  ii  235,  L.  331,  and  B.  327  are  somewhat  similar 
in  sentiment,  but  may  be  regarded  as  only  corresponding  quatrains 

We  have  here  the  germ  of  the  opening  and  closing  verses  of  F 's  **  Kuza 
ndinah"  section,  with  their  references  to  " hunger -stricken  Ramazan  ” (F  v.  82), 
and  F.  v 90 • 

The  little  Moon  look’d  in  that  all  were  seeking, 

And  then  they  jogg’d  each  other,  " Brother!  Brother  > 

Now  for  the  Porter’s  shoulder-knot  a-creaking  1 ” 

1.  Ramazan  is  the  ninth  month  of  the  Muhammadan  year,  which  is 
observed  as  a month  of  fasting  and  penance,  during  which  rigid  Muslims  neither 
eat,  drink,  wash,  or  caress  their  wives.  The  first  day  of  Shawwal  is  therefore 
eagerly  looked  forward  to  in  the  East 

2.  Literally,  " of  growing,  burgeoning,”  i.e , Spring. 

3.  The  kawwdl  is  the  professional  story-teller,  or  improvisatore  of  the  oriental 
coffee-house. 


j (1) 

iJkJ  ^ 5 

Ou  «X6i 


(*) 


Transcript  and  Translation 


275 


i j>] 

|6V 

^^X.LJ  T jS 

^ >1?^ 

£\s.  ^_^jj|  dS"  ^ 

^ 1,^'^  ^ Ai 

i6A 

kX-*T  Ui>JljJ  sU 

ck^T  J[>— s^  ji^  J=L*o  pLXi* 

for  He  who  made  the  world'  does  not  occupy  Himself “ 
about  moustaches  like  thine,  or  a beard  like  mine.“ 

157- 

Had  I charge  of  the  matter  ^ I would  not  have  come, 
and  likewise  could  I control  my  going,  where  should  I go? 
were  it  not  better  than  that,  that  in  this  world  ^ 

I had  neither  come,  nor  gone,  nor  lived? 

158. 

The  month  of  Ramazan ' passes  and  Shawwal  comes, 
the  season  of  increase, ^ and  joy,  and  story-tellers  “ comes ; 


276 


Notes 


4.  pusht  means  the  back,  and  also  the  "knot”  upon  which  porters  carry 
their  burdens.  W inclines  to  read  this  pusht  hast}  a load,  or  pack,  rather  than 
pusht  pusht t which  he  says  he  does  not  understand  It  is  undoubtedly  a poetic  form 
olpushtii  pusht}  which  means  " back  to  back,”  as  porters  help  one  another  to  raise 
their  loads. 


The  final  passage,  containing  the  history  of  this  T;IS  , related  by  the  scribe 
Mahmud  Yerbudakl,  is  written  in  Arabic,  as  is  commonly  the  case  in  Persian  TMSS. 


Transcript  and  Translation 


277 


jyj  jiSi]  d<jT  jwT 

JwT  JLfe  U!^, 

^U)  (.sAUI  ^lyixoJ)  j^l 

J di^l  _^ala)  Ij  Ij  _^_Lo 

f*^l  ^ <sij-5-*JI  dTUiUS' 

• jllJJ 

J}]jC>!i\  ^s>  LjBU.:a. 


So 


now  comes  that  time  when  “ Bottles  upon  the  shoulder ! ” 
they  say, — for  the  porters  come  and  are  back  to  back,^ 


END  OF  THE  QUATRAINS. 

Written  by  the  humble  slave,  who  is  in  need  of  mercies 
of  Eternal  God,  Mahmud  Yerbudakl.  Finished  in  the  last 
decade  of  Safar,  with  blessing  and  victory,  in  the  year  Eight 
hundred  and  sixty-five  of  the  Hijrah  of  the  Prophet,  upon 

whom  be  peace,  and  benediction,  and  honour;  in  the  capital 
Shiraz. 

May  God  most  high  protect  her  from  evils. 


20 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


The  following  Bibliography  of  the  Riiba’iyat  of  Omar  Khayyam 
cannot,  and  does  not  pretend  to  anything  like  completeness.  It  is 
merely  a catalogue  of  the  literature  of  the  subject  so  far  as  it  is  in 
my  own  possession,  or  is  known  to  me.  For  some  of  the  references 
to  MSS.  and  to  American  editions,  I am  indebted  to  Mr.  Nathan 
Haskell  Dole. 

MSS. 

British  Museum, 

1 Original  MSS.,  No.  330,  £f.  109,  containing  423  ruba’iyat  (i8th  century). 

2 Original  MSS.,  No.  331,  ff.  9%,  containing  540  ruba’iyat  (a.h.  io33> 

A.D.  1624). 

3 Additional  MSS.,  No.  27,261,  containing  a few  ruba’iyat  in  Section  15 

(i6th  century). 

Bodleian  Library ^ Oxford, 

4 MS.,  No.  524,  containing  405  ruba’iyat. 

5 „ No.  525  (this  MS.).  , , 

6 ,,  No.  1210.  A collection  of  Miscellaneous  Poems,  containing 

several  ruba’iyat  on  pp.  88-90. 

Cambridge  University  Library, 

7 MS.,  Add.  1055,  ff.  Z2S,  containing  8oi  ruba’iyat.  Not  dated,  but 

its  first  owner  inscribed  his  name  in  it  in  a.h.  1195  (**d.  178*)" 

India  Office, 

a MS.,  No.  2420,  pp.  212-267,  containing  512  ruba’iyat. 

9 „ No.  2486,  pp.  I5a-i94>  )>  362  „ 

Btitgal  Asiatic  Society's  Library,  Calcutta. 

10  MS.,  No.  1548,  containing  516  ruba’iyat. 

Bibliothlqw  Nationale,  Paris. 

10a  MS.,  Suppltoent  Persan  745.  A Diwun  of  Emad  dated  a.h.  786 
(a.d.  1384).  One  of  the  owners  of  this  has  written  6 ruba’iyat  of 
Omar  upon  the  blank  side  of  fol.  64,  in  a handwriting  of  the  end 

of  the  9th  or  beginning  of  the  10th  century,  a.h.  They  are 

i.  = L.  769;  ii.=L.  84;  iii.=L.  iso;  iv.  = L.  3®*  i v.  = L.  5451 
not  in  L. ; vii.  = L.  40.  And  on  the  leaf  centring  the  colophon 
ho  has  written  a variant  of  q.  112  of  the  Bodleian  MS. 


282 


Bibliography 


loh  Ancien  Fonds  349,  ff.  181-aio,  213  ruba’iyat,  dated  a.h.  920  (a.d.  1514). 

IOC  Supplement  Persan  823,  if.  92-113)  349  ruba’iyat,  dated  a.h.  934 
(a.d.  1527). 

lod  Supplement  Persan  826,  ff.  391-394,  75  ruba’iyat,  dated  a.h.  937 
(a.d.  1530).  _ 

IOC  Suppl6ment  Persan  793,  f.  104,  6 rnba’iyat  in  an  nth  century  (a.h.) 
handwriting. 

10/  Supplement  Persan  833.  A MS.  of  the  Atash  Kadah,  containing  31 
ruba’iyat,  dated  a.h.  1317  (a.d.  1802). 

Koniglichc  Bihliothck^  Berlin. 

II  MS.,  No.  35,  containing  338  ruba’iyat. 

13  „ No.  666,  ,,  65  „ 

13  „ No.  671,  „ a collection  of  ruba’iyat,  many  of  which 

appear  to  be  Omar’s. 

14  MS.,  No.  673,  ditto. 

15  „ No.  672,  containing  40  ruba’iyat. 

16  „ No.  674,  „ 380  „ 

17  „ No.  697,  „ 43  „ 

Herzogliche  Bibliothek,  Gotha. 

18  A MS.  and  a Turkish  version  by  Daulat  Shah. 

iSa  The  Bankipur  MS.  This  was  discovered  at  Bankipur  at  the  moment 
that  these  sheets  were  leaving  the  press.  It  is  dated  a.h.  961-3 
(a.d.  1554),  and  contains  603  ruba’iyat.  It  is  the  largest  collection 
known  of  so  early  a date. 

LITHOGRAPHS. 

1 9 Calcutta,  1836,  containing  493  ruba’iyat. 


I9^^  Teheran, 

1861, 

5> 

460 

9J 

30 

Tabriz, 

1868, 

>S 

453 

7i 

31 

Lucknow, 

1868, 

»» 

716 

9) 

33 

a 

1878, 

t9 

763 

99 

33,  34  Other  Lucknow  editions  were  issued  in  1883  and  1883,  but  I have 
not  seen  them. 

35  Lucknow,  1894,  containing  770  ruba’iyat. 

36  St.  Petersburg,  1888,  „ 453  „ 

37  In  the  Atash  Kadah  of  Azr  of  Isfahan,  Bombay,  a.h.  1299 

(a.d.  1882),  31  ruba’iyat.  (Vide  supra,  lof.) 

38  A selection  of  poems  published  at  Teheran,  1857,  containing  230 

ruba’iyat  of  Omar,  and  other  ruba’iyat  of  Baba  Tahir,  Abu  Sa’id, 
Attar,  etc. 

39  I have  a similar  collection  lithographed  at  Bombay,  in  a.h.  1397 

(a.d.  1880),  containing  756  ruba’iyat  attributed  to  Omar. 

PRINTED  TEXTS. 

30  Nicolas,  Paris,  1867,  containing  464  ruba’iyat.  Described  elsewhere, 
. 31  Whinfield,  London,  1883  „ 500  ,,  „ „ 


Bibliography 


283 


FOREIGN  TRANSLATIONS. 

32  J.  Von  Hammer- PurgstalL  Gesduchte  der  Schonen  Redekunste 

Persiens.  Vienna,  1818,  pp.  80-83,  containing  25  quatrains. 

33  The  fourth  part  of  A.  Wolff’s  “ Die  Classiker  aller  Zeiten  und 

Nationen”  (Berlin,  1860-77)  is  entitled  “Die  National  Literatur 
sammtliche  Vblken  des  Orients,”  by  A.  E.  Wollheim  da  Fonseca; 
pp.  206-209  contain  an  essay  upon  Omar,  and  nineteen  of  Von 
Hammer- PurgstalPs  quatrains,  which  are  stigmatised  as  inaccu- 
rate and  badly  put  together. 

34  Garcin  de  Tassy.  Note  sur  les  Ruba’iyat  de  Omar  Khaiyam.  Paris, 

1857,  containing  10  ruba’iyat  with  prose  translations.  Vid& 
Introduction. 

35  A.  F,  von  Schack.  Strophen  des  Omar  Chijam.  Stuttgart,  1878 ; 

contains  336  quatrains. 

36  F,  Bodenstedt.  Die  Lieder  und  Spriiche  des  Omar  Chajjam. 

Breslau,  1881.  3rd  edition,  1882;  4th  edition,  1889;  contains 
467  quatrains. 

36^  J.  Pizzi.  Storia  della  Poesia  Persiana,  Turin,  1894.  Translation  ot 
63  ruba’iyat. 

366  V.  Rugarli.  Died  Quartine  di  Omar  Khayyam  tradotte  dal  Persiano. 
Bologna,  1895. 

37  V.  Rugarli.  “ Dodici  Quartine  di  Omar  Khayyam  tradotte  dal 

Persiano.”  Bologna,  1895 ; 12  quatrains  translated  from  Nicolas 
(77j  83,  85,  94,  138,  152,  235,  269,  346,  370,  396,  and  another). 

38  Bela  Harrach  [Translation].  Eastern  Pearls  by  the  Persian  Cynic 

Poet,  Omar  Khayyam.  Budapest,  n.d.  ; 130  pp.,  i6mo.  (Follows 
the  order  of  Nicolas.) 


EDWARD  FITZGERALD’S  TRANSLATION. 


39 

ist 

edition, 

London, 

1859. 

Quaritch. 

Containing  75  quatrains. 

40 

2nd 

II 

1868. 

II 

II  no  „ 

41 

3rcl 

II 

II 

1872. 

II 

II  lOI  „ 

42 

4th 

1) 

»i 

1879. 

II 

II  loi  „ 

43 

5th 

II 

1889, 

Macmillan. 

In  the  “ Letters  and  Literary 

Remains  of  Edward  FitzGerald,”  edited  by  W.  Aldis  Wright. 

44  The  same,  reprinted  separately.  London,  1890;  Macmillan.  This 

has  been  reprinted  as  required. 

45  An  anonymous  edition  privately  printed  at  Madras  (Adiyar),  1862, 

containing  a reprint  of  the  1859  edition,  of  Garcin  de  Tassy’s 
Note  (No.  34,  supra) f and  Professor  Cowell’s  article  (No  69,  infra) ^ 
with  a translation  of  a few  additional  quatrains. 

46  A pirated  edition,  got  up  by  Mr.  Quilter  and  a few  friends.  London, 

T883,  J.  Campbell;  royal  4to. 

47  An  edition  made  up  from  all  four  FitzGerald  editions,  printed  on  his 

own  private  press  (the  Ashendene  Press),  i8g6,  by  H.  St.John 
Hornby  and  his  sisters.  Fifty  copies  only;  printed  for  private 
circulation. 


284 


Bibliography 


AMERICAN  REPRINTS, 

48  ist  American,  from  the  3rd  London  edition.  Boston,  1878.  (The 

23rd  edition  of  this  was  published  in  1894.) 

49  Elihu  Vedder’s  Illustrated  edition.  Boston,  1884;  folio. 

49a  A small  quarto  print  of  the  text  alone  was  issued  at  the  same  time  as 
the  above,  printed  on  one  side  only  of  strips  of  paper,  the  fore- 
edge  being  left  uncut,  like  a Chinese  or  Japanese  book.  It  has  45 
pages,  and  no  title-page,  imprint,  or  date,  A Note  on  page  i ex- 
plains that  it  is  printed  as  an  accompaniment  to  the  Vedder 
illustrations.  The  quatrains  are  in  the  order  in  which  Vedder 
rearranged  them,  and  FitzGerald’s  Introduction  and  Notes  come 
after  the  poem,  at  the  end  of  the  book. 

50  The  same,  reduced  in  size  only.  Boston,  1886;  4to. 

51  ,,  Popular  edition.  Boston,  1894;  small  4to.  With  an 
Introduction,  etc.,  by  M,  K. 

53  The  Grolier  Club  edition.  New  York,  1885. 

53  The  Works  of  Edward  FitzGerald.  Boston,  1887.  Two  vols.  Vol.  L 

contains  the  Ruba’iyat. 

54  The  Ruba’iyat,  separately  printed,  with  Introduction  and  M,  K.’s 

Notes.  Boston,  1888. 

55  Pamphlet  edition,  issued  at  20  cents,  in  a green  paper  wrapper. 

San  Francisco,  1891. 

56  The  Bibelot  edition.  Portland  (Maine),  1893.  Mosher, 

57  The  Old  World  edition.  Portland  (Maine),  1895.  Mosher, 

58  The  St.  Paul  edition.  St.  Paul  (Minnesota),  1B95  and  1897.  Porter, 

59  The  Multivariorum  Edition  of  Nathan  Haskell  Dole,  in  3 vols, 

Boston,  1895  (J.  Knight  Co.).  This  monumental  work  is  a 
marvel  of  careful  collation  and  compilation.  In  it  the  fullest 
references  are  given  to  all  other  translations,  and  the  four 
editions  are  minutely  compared.  All  the  best  magazine  litera- 
ture is  included,  and  most  of  the  poetry  inspired  by  Omar. 
It  is  a work  that  no  student  of  Omar  can  do  without;  but  I 
understand  that  the  representatives  of  Edward  FitzGerald 
have  refused  to  allow  it  to  be  published  in  England. 

59rt  The  same,  2nd  edition,  greatly  enlarged  and  illustrated,  Boston, 
1897,  L.  C.  Page  & Co. 

There  are  other  American  reprints  appearing  almost  daily,  which  are 
copied  or  re-arranged  from  Messrs.  Macmillan’s  current  edition. 

OTHER  ENGLISH  TRANSLATIONS. 

60  E.  H.  Whinfield.  ist  edition,  1882;  containing  253  quatrains. 

61  „ „ 2nd  „ 1883;  „ 500  „ and 

the  text. 

62  E.  H.  Whinfield.  3rd  edition,  1893;  containing  267  quatrains. 

63  Anonymous,  [E.  A,  Johnson.]  “The  Dialogue  of  the  Gulshan  i 

Raz  . . .”  With  Selections  from  the  Kuba’iyat  of  Omar 
Khayyam.  London,  1887. 


Bibliography  285 

64  Louisa  S.  Costello.  ‘'The  Rose  Garden  of  Persia.’*  London,  18S7; 

pp.  66-76.  Omar  Khayyam. 

65  John  L.  Garner.  “The  Strophes  of  Omar  Khayyam.”  Milwaukee, 

1888;  izmo. 

66  Justin  H.  McCarthy.  A Prose  translation,  entirely  printed  in  capital 

letters.  London,  i88g. 

67  There  is  an  American  reprint  of  this  published  in  the  Bibelot  Series 

by  Mosher^  Portland  (Maine),  1896,  in  which  the  translations 
are  put  into  ordinary  print  and  numbered. 

67«  The  Quatrains  of  Omar  Kheyyam  of  Nishapour,  now  first  com- 
pletely done  into  English  verse  from  the  Persian,  in  accordance 
with  the  original  forms,  with  a biographical  and  critical  intro- 
duction by  John  Payne,  etc.  London,  1898.  Printed  for  the 
Villon  Society  by  private  subscription,  and  for  private  circulation 
only. 


MAGAZINE  ARTICLES. 

To  attempt  to  compile  anything  like  a complete  catalogue  of  these 
would  be  to  attempt  a vain  task.  The  following  are  articles  that  I have 
myself  had  occasion  to  consult,  and  consider  to  be  of  sufficient  importance 
to  warrant  their  inclusion  in  a bibliography  of  Omar  Khayyam : 

68  Journal  Asiatique  (Paris),  No.  g,  1857.  Garcin  de  Tassy.  “ Note 

sur  les  Ruba’iyat  de  Omar  Kha’iyam.” 

69  Calcutta  Review,  January,  1858.  E.  B.  Cowell.  Described  elsewhere. 

70  Le  Moniteur  Universel,  December  8,  1B67.  “ Les  Quatrains 

d’Omar.” 

71  North  American  Review,  October,  1869.  C.  E.  Norton.  Review  of 

Nicolas’s  edition  and  Fitzgerald’s  2nd  edition, 

72  Fraser’s  Magazine,  June,  1870.  “ Omar  Khayyam,  the  Astronomer- 

Poet  of  Persia.” 

73  Old  and  New  (Boston,  U.S.A,),  May,  1872.  The  Rev.  J.  W.  Chad- 

wick. “ The  Poems  of  Omar  Khayyam.” 

74  Canadian  Monthly  (Toronto).  Vol.  X.  (1876),  p.  399.  Fidelis 

[A.  M.  Machar].  “An  Old  Persian  Poet.” 

75  Contemporary  Review,  March,  1876.  H.  Schiitz- Wilson.  “ The 

Ruba’iyat  of  Omar  Khayyam.” 

76  The  Galaxy  (New  York),  September,  1876.  J.  H.  Siddons.  “A 

Persian  Poet,” 

77  Journal  of  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal,  No.  46,  1877.  P.  Whalley 

and  C.  S.  Muradabad.  “Metrical  Translations  from  the  Qua- 
trains of  ’Umar  Khayyam  ” (with  text;  9 quatrains). 

78  Atlantic  Monthly,  April,  1878.  Thos.  B.  Aldrich.  “A  Persian  Poet.” 

79  Fraser’s  Magazine,  May,  1879.  Jessie  E.  Cadell.  “The  True  Omar 

Khayydm.” 

80  Academy,  January  17,  1885.  Whitley  Stokes.  “Translation  of  18 

Ruba’iyat.” 


21 


286  Bibliography 

81  Saturday  Review,  January  i6,  1886.  (J.  H.  McCarthy.) 

82  Macmillan’s  Magazine,  November,  1887.  H.  G.  Keene.  “ Omar 

Khayyam.” 

83  The  New  Englander  (New  Haven,  U.S.A.).  Vol.XLIX.  (1888),  p.  328. 

W.  L.  Phelps.  “Schopenhauer  and  Omar  Khayydm.” 

84  Harvard  Monthly  (Cambridge,  Mass.),  December,  1885.  A.  B. 

Houghton.  “ A Study  in  Despair.” 

85  Fortnightly  Review,  July,  1889.  E.  Gosse.  “Edward  FitzGerald. 

86  Blackwood’s  Edinburgh  Magazine,  November,  i8Sg.  F.  H.  Groome. 

“Edward  FitzGerald.” 

87  Cornhill  Magazine,  December,  i8go.  “Omar  Khayyam’s  Ruba’iyat.’ 

(Translation  of  10  Ruba’iyat.) 

88  National  Review,  December,  1890.  C.  J.  Pickering.  “ ’Umar  of 

Naishapur.” 

89  The  Nation,  October  26,  1893.  Moncure  D.  Conway.  “The  Omar 

Khayyam  Cult  in  England.” 

90  English  Illustrated  Magazine,  February,  1894.  E.  Clodd.  “Edward 

FitzGerald.” 

91  Calcutta  Review,  1895.  H.  G.  Keene.  “ Loose  Stanzas.” 

92  II  Convito  (Rome),  June,  1895,  pp.  397-4I5-  A.  de  Bosis.  “Note  su 

Omar  Khayyam  e su  Elihu  Vedder.” 

93  Fortnightly  Review,  December,  i8g6.  J.  A.  Murray.  “ Omar 

Khaiyam.” 

93^^  Indian  Magazine,  March  1898.  B.  B.  Nagarkar.  “ Lecture  on 
Omar  Khaiyam.” 

I have  purposely  avoided  Foreign  Magazine  Articles,  except 
where  they  are  of  great  importance. 

I do  not  propose  to  give  references  to  poems  in  praise  or  in 
imitation  of  Omar.  Their  name  is  legion.  The  most  notable  will 
be  found  among  the  works  of  Andrew  Lang,  Mathilde  Blind, 
Christopher  Cranch,  Theodore  Watts,  and  Rosamund  Marriott 
Watson,  R.  le  Gallienne  has  filled  the  upper  half  of  a small 
book  with  such  verses.  All  these  find  a place  in  Mr,  N.  H.  Dole’s 
monumental  edition. 


GENERAL  ITEMS. 

94  One  of  the  most  interesting  and  at  the  same  time  unattainable  items 

in  the  literature  of  Omar  is  the  fulfilment  of  FitzGerald’s  idea  of 
putting  the  quatrains  into  Latin  verse,  as  follows : 

“ Ruba’iyat  of  Omar  Khayydm,  the  Astronomer-poet  of  Persia, 
rendered  into  English  verse  by  Edward  FitzGerald,  and  into 
Latin  verse  by  Herbert  Wilson  Greene,  M.A.,  B.C.L.,  Fellow 
of  Magdalen  College,  Oxford.”  Privately  Printed  (Oxford),  1893. 

95  There  should  also  be  mentioned  Miss  Liza  Lehmann’s  Song  Cycle, 

“In  a Persian  Garden,”  in  which  all,  or  parts  of,  thirty-one 
quatrains  are  arranged  for  four  voices.  It  was  performed  for 


Bibliography 


287 


the  first  time  (in  public)  at  St.  James’s  Hall,  14th  December, 
1896,  and  is  fully  described  in  the  “Programme  and  Analytical 
Remarks”  for  that  evening  [ChappdT). 

96  V.  Schukovsky.  “ Omar  Khayyam.  I ' Strastvuyushchiya  Chet- 

veroctishiya.’ ” (rm7J5. : Omar  Khayyam  and  the  “ wandering  ” 

Quatrains.)  St.  Petersburg,  1898. 

97  E.  Heron- Allen.  “ Some  Sidelights  upon  Edward  FitzGerald’s 

Poem,  ‘The  Ruba’iyat  of  Omar  Khayyam.’  Being  the  sub- 
stance of  a Lecture  delivered  at  the  Grosvenor  Crescent  Club 
and  Women’s  Institute  on  the  sznd  March,  1898.”  London, 
1898. 


21 — 2 


SOME  SIDELIGHTS  UPON  EDWARD 

FITZGERALD’S  POEM, 

‘‘THE  RUBA’IYAT  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM.” 

Being  the  Substance  of  a Lecture  delivered  at  the 
Grosvenor  Crescent  Club  and  Women’s  Institute 
ON  THE  22ND  MaRCH,  1898. 


There  is  material  for  much  subtle  argument — material 
indeed  for  discussion  such  as  is  dear  to  the  souls  of  the  self- 
proclaimed  Wise  Men  of  the  East — in  the  following  problem  : 
Did  Omar  Khayyam  give  fame  to  Edward  FitzGerald,  or  did 
Edward  FitzGerald  give  European  fame  to  Omar  Khayyam  ? 
And  by  fame  I mean,  not  the  respect  paid  to  a great  poet  by 
students  of  the  language  in  which  he  wrote,  but  that  far- 
reaching  and  universal  popularity  which  enshrouds  the  names 
of  Edward  FitzGerald  and  Omar  Khayyam  in  every  quarter  of 
the  known  world  where  the  English  language  is  spoken  by 
natives  or  colonists.  Though  the  recent  utterances  of  Colonel 
Hay,  the  United  States  Ambassador  to  this  country,  may  seem, 
even  to  Omar’s  most  fervent  devotees,  a trifle  exaggerated,^ 
it  is  not,  I think,  too  much  to  say  that,  even  in  this  latter 
half  of  the  19th  century,  when  the  cult  of  particular  poets 
has  drawn  bands  of  men  and  women  together  and  given  us 
Shakespeare  Societies,  Shelley  Societies,  Browning  Societies, 
and  the  like,  there  is  no  freemasonry  so  infallible,  no  sympathy 

1.  Daily  Chronicle,  gth  December^  1897. — “ The  exquisite  beauty,  the  fault- 
less form,  the  singular  grace  of  those  amazing  stanzas,  "were  not  more  wonderful 
than  the  depth  and  breadth  of  their  profound  philosophy,  their  knowledge  of 
life,  their  dauntless  courage,  their  serene  facing  of  the  ultimate  problems  of  life 
and  death.  ...  I came  upon  a literal  translation  of  the  Ruba'iyat,  and  I saw 
that  not  the  least  remarkable  quality  of  FitzGerald's  poem  was  its  fidelity  to  the 
original.  . . . It  is  not  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  later  poet  that  he  followed  so 
closely  in  the  footsteps  of  the  earlier.  . . . There  is  not  a hill-post  in  India  or  a 
village  in  England  where  there  is  not  a coterie  to  whom  Omar  Khayyam  is  a 
familiar  friend  and  a bond  of  union." 


2go 


Some  Sidelights 


so  profound^  as  that  which  unites  the  lovers  of  the  quatrains  of 
Omar  Khayyam,  in  the  form  in  which  they  have  been  made 
known  to  us  by  the  beautiful,  the  eternal  poem  of  “ Old  Fitz  ” 
— the  Laird  of  Littlegrange. 

The  incunabulum,  the  earliest  archive  of  the  cult,  is 
admittedly  the  single  verse  attributed  to  the  ghost  of  Omar 
(by  whom  it  was  recited  in  a dream  to  his  mother)  and  re- 
corded in  the  History  of  the  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Persians, 
Parthians  and  Medes,”  by  Dr.  Thomas  Hyde,  Regius  Pro- 
fessor of  Arabic  in  the  University  of  Oxford,  in  the  year  1700.® 
This  is  the  quatrain  which  was  rendered  by  FitzGerald  in  the 
Introduction  to  his  poem  : 

O thou  who  burn’st  in  Heart  for  those  who  burn 
In  Hell,  whose  fires  thyself  should  feed  in  turn  ; 

How  long  be  crying,  “ Mercy  on  them,  God  I ” 

Why,  who  art  thou  to  teach,  and  He  to  learn.*' 

The  German  renderings  of  Josef  von  Hammer-PurgstalU  and 
Friedrich  Riickert®  would  not,  by  themselves  have  called  Omar 
to  the  position  which  he  holds  to-day  among  the  poets  of  the 
world,  and  without  the  poem  of  FitzGerald  the  record  of  the 
astronomer-poet  might  have  closed  with  the  publication  of  his 
treatise  upon  Algebra  and  the  higher  mathematics,  which  was 
given  to  the  world  in  1851  by  Dr.  Woepcke,  Professor  of  Mathe- 


2 ” Veterum  Persarum  et  Parthorum  et  Medorum  religionis  historia  " 
Oxford.  1700;  2nd  Edition,  1760.  Appendix,  pp.  529,  530. 

3 Dr.  Hyde's  rendering  runs : 

O combustus  combustus  Combustione ! 

Vae,  a te  est  Ignis  Gehennae  Accensisl 

Quousque  dicis,  OmaYo  mismcors  esto  ? 

Quousque  Deum,  Caj>ut  Misericoydm,  docebis  ^ 
which  is  a more  correct  rendering  than  FitzGerald's  of  the  original,  which  is 
C I,  L.  769,  B 755,  S P 453,  B.  ii.  537,  W.  4S8,  N 459.  Persian; 

y ^ ^ 

y I;  ^ ji  6^  jy' 

4,  “ Geschichte  der  schonen  Redekiinste  Persians,  &c.'*  Vienna,  i8i8, 
p.  80,  20. 

5.  "Grammatik,  Poetik  und  Rhetorik  der  Perser,"  herausgegeben  von 
W Pertsch.  Gotha,  1S74. 


upon  Edward  FitzGerald's  Poem  2gi 

matics  in  the  University  of  Bonn  Dr,  Woepcke  has 

pointed  out  in  the  Introduction  to  his  translation  that  the 
Algebra  of  Omar  Khayyam  first  attracted  the  notice  of 
mathematicians  in  1742,  when  a Dutch  savant,  Gerard 
Meerman,  called  attention  to  a manuscript  of  his  treatise, 
bequeathed  by  one  Warner  to  the  town  of  Leyden.  The 
citation  occurs  in  the  Introduction  to  Meerman’s  Specimen 
calculi  fiuxionalis.”  Succeeding  mathematicians  called  atten- 
tion to  the  work  ,*  but  the  first  important  consideration  that  it 
received  was  at  the  hands  of  L.  A.  Sedillot,  who  announced  in 
the  Nouveau  Journal  A siatique,  in  May,  1834,  the  discovery  of  an 
incomplete  MS.  of  the  same  treatise  in  the  Bibliotheque  Royale 
in  Paris.  It  was  reserved  for  Professor  Libri  to  discover,  in  the 
same  place,  a complete  MS.  of  the  work,  and  it  was  firom  the 
Leyden  MS.,  the  Sedillot  fragment,  and  the  Libri  MS.  that 
Dr.  Woepcke  edited  his  admirable  text  and  translation.  In  his 
Introduction  Dr.  Woepcke  gives  a translation  of  the  account 
of  Omar  from  the  Tarikh  ul  hukama  of  Jamal  ud  Din  ’Ali,  which 
has  been  so  often  quoted  in  articles  upon  the  poet,^  and 
observes  upon  it  that  Omar  ‘'is  a detestable  man,  but  an  un- 
equalled astronomer ; he  is  perhaps  a heretic,  but  surely  he  is  a 
philosopher  of  the  first  order.”  This  opinion  would  appear  to  have 
been  shared  by  Elphinstone,®  who,  in  his  account  of  Cabul,  places 
on  record  what  may,  perhaps,  be  looked  upon  as  an  undesirable 
precursor  of  the  Omar  Khayyam  Club.  He  says:  "Another 
sect,  which  is  sometimes  confounded  with  the  Sufis,  is  one 
which  bears  the  name  of  Moollah  Zukkee,  who  was  its  great 
patron  in  Cabul.  Its  followers  hold  that  all  the  prophets  were 
impostors  and  all  revelation  an  invention.  They  seem  very 
doubtful  of  the  truth  of  a future  state,  and  even  of  the  being  of 

6.  “L’Algcbre  d'Omar  Alkh^yyami,”  publiee,  traduite  et  accompagnee 
d’extraits  de  manuscrits  inedits  par  F.  Woepcke.  Paris,  1S51. 

7.  Vide  Nathan  H.  Dole’s  Multivariorum  edition  of  the  "Ruba’iyat  of 
Omar  Khayyem."  Boston  (Mass.),  1896.  Vol.  ii.,  pp.  457-461. 

8.  The  Hon.  Mountstuart  Elphinstone.  **  An  account  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Caubul  and  its  Dependencies  in  Persia,  Tartary,  and  India.'*  London,  1815. 
Ch.  V,,  p.  209. 


2g2 


Some  Sidelights 


a God.  Their  tenets  appear  to  be  very  ancient^  and  are 
precisely  those  of  the  old  Persian  poet  Khayyam  (sic,  Kheioom), 
whose  works  exhibit  such  specimens  of  impiety  as  probably 
never  were  equalled  in  any  other  language.  Khayyam  dwells 
particularly  on  the  existence  of  evil,  and  taxes  the  Supreme 
Being  with  the  introduction  of  it  in  terms  which  can  scarcely 
be  believed.  The  Sufis  have  unaccountably  pressed  this 
writer  into  their  service ; they  explain  away  some  of  his 
blasphemies  by  forced  interpretations ; others  they  represent 
as  innocent  freedoms  and  reproaches  such  as  a lover  may  pour 
out  against  his  beloved.  The  followers  of  Moollah  Zukkee  are 
said  to  take  the  full  advantage  of  their  release  from  the  fear  of 
hell  and  the  awe  of  a Supreme  Being,  and  to  be  the  most 
dissolute  and  unprincipled  profligates  in  the  kingdom.  Their 
opinions  nevertheless  are  cherished  in  secret,  and  are  said  to 
be  very  prevalent  among  the  licentious  nobles  of  the  Court 
of  Shah  Mahmoud.”  And,  notwithstanding  that  Professor 
Cowell  made  the  Algebra  of  Omar  Khayyam  the  text  for  his 
article  in  the  Calcutta  Review  (January,  1858),  here,  but  for 
FitzGerald,  might  have  rested  the  fame  of  him  who,  as  Dr. 
Hyde  described  him,  was  ‘‘one  of  the  Eight  who  settled  the 
Jalali  era,  in  1079,”  a computation  of  time  which,  says  Gibbon,® 
surpassed  the  Julian  and  approached  the  accuracy  of  the 
Gregorian  style. 

The  object  of  the  present  essay,  however,  is,  not  to 
analyse  the  quatrains  composed  by,  or  attributed  to  Omar 
Khayyam,  but  to  examine  by  the  light  of  diligent  research  the 
poem  of  Edward  FitzGerald,  which  was  founded  upon  and 
took  its  title  from  those  quatrains,  or  (ruba’iyat). 

Almost  from  the  day  upon  which  FitzGerald’s  poem  first 
saw  the  light,  a controversy,  in  which  question  and  doubt 
have  been  uppermost,  has  raged  round  the  problem  of  how 
far  it  can  claim  to  be  regarded  as  a correct  rendering — I will 

g.  "Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,”  chap.  Ivii.,  Gibbing's 
edition,  i8go,  vol,  iv.,  p.  180.  Vide  also  Dr.  Hyde,  loc,  cit.,  chap,  xvi.,  pp.  200-211. 


upon  Edward  FitzGerald's  Poem 


293 


not  say  translation,  for  that  is  an  expression  that  cannot  be 
properly  applied  to  it — of  the  original  quatrains.  I have 
remarked  in  another  place, A translation  pure  and  simple 
it  is  not,  hut  a translation  in  the  most  classic  sense  of  the 
term  it  undoubtedly  is.”  Since  expressing  that  view,  however 
I have  had  occasion  to  modify  it  somewhat.  Prof.  Charles  Eliot 
Norton  has  summed  up  the  position  in  a passage  unsur- 
passed in  the  literature  of  criticism.^^  He  says  : FitzGerald 
is  to  be  called  ‘ translator  ’ only  in  default  of  a better  word, 
one  which  should  express  the  poetic  transfusion  of  a poetic 
spirit  from  one  language  to  another,  and  the  re-representation 
of  the  ideas  and  images  of  the  original  in  a form  not  altogether 
diverse  from  their  own,  but  perfectly  adapted  to  the  new 
conditions  of  time,  place,  custom  and  habit  of  mind  in  which 
they  reappear.  ...  It  is  the  work  of  a poet  inspired  by  the 
work  of  a poet ; not  a copy,  but  a reproduction;  not  a transla- 
tion, but  the  re-delivery  of  a poetic  inspiration.” 

FitzGerald’s  poem  is,  however,  something  more  than 
this.  Stated  in  the  fewest  possible  words,  the  poem  familiar 
to  English  readers  as  the  ^'Ruba’iyat  of  Omar  Khayyam  ” is 
the  expressed  result  of  FitzGerald’s  entire  course  of  Persian 
studies.  There  are  many  isolated  lines  and  ideas,  and  more 
than  one  entire  quatrain  for  which  diligent  study  has  revealed 
no  corresponding  passages  in  the  original  quatrains  of  Omar 
Khayyam — notably,  for  instance,  the  quatrain  : 

O Thou  who  Man  of  baser  Earth  did’st  make, 

And  ev’n  with  Paradise  devised  the  Snake: 

For  all  the  Sin  wherewith  the  Face  of  Man 
Is  blacken’d — Man’s  forgiveness  give — and  take  I 

and  the  opening  quatrain,  which  Mr.  Aldis  Wright,  the  editor 
of  his  Letters  and  Literary  Remains,”  says  is  entirely  his 
own.”  Even  Professor  Cowell  has  said,  ex  cathedra,  ‘‘  there 
is  no  original  for  the  line  about  the  snake,”  and  attri- 

10.  Vide  Introduction,  p.  xxxi. 

11.  In  the  North  American  Review,  October,  1869. 

12.  London,  1889.  Macmillan,  3 vols. 


294 


Some  Sidelights 


butes  the  last  line  to  a mistake  of  FitzGerald’s  in 
translating  a quatrain  from  Nicolas^  which  led  him  to 
"'invent”  the  line.  We  shall  presently  see  that  this  is 
not  so,  save  in  so  far  as  that  FitzGerald  took  these  lines  by 
a process  of  automatic  cerebration,  not  from  Omar,  but  from 
other  sources.  The  manner  in  which  he  wrote  his  poem  must 
be  borne  in  mind.  Professor  Cowell,  writing  to  me  (under 
date  8th  July,  1897),  says:  ""I  am  quite  sure  that  he  did  not 
make  a literal  prose  version  first ; he  was  too  fond  of  getting 
the  strong  vivid  impression  of  the  original  as  a whole.  He 
pondered  this  over  and  over  afterwards,  and  altered  it  in  his 
lonely  walks,  sometimes  approximating  nearer  to  the  original, 
and  often  diverging  farther.  He  was  always  aiming  at  some 
strong  and  worthy  equivalent;  verbal  accuracy  he  disregarded.” 
Composing  his  poem  in  this  manner,  with  the  original  ruba’iyat 
not  before  him,  all  the  impressions  stored  in  his  brain  as  the 
result  of  his  extensive  studies  of  Persian  poetry,  and  Persian 
history,  manners  and  customs,  were  present  in  his  mind,  and 
the  echoes  of  those  studies  are  clearly  recognisable  in  the  lines 
and  passages  which  have  defied  the  research  of  students  of  the 
original  quatrains. 

That  no  one  should  have  called  attention  to  this  before, 
surprises  me,  for  the  process  was  indicated  clearly  by  Pro- 
fessor Cowell  in  his  note  upon  the  opening  lines  of  quatrain 
No.  33 : 

Earth  could  not  answer;  nor  the  seas  that  mourn 

In  flowing  Purple,  o£  their  Lord  forlorn. 

FitzGerald  corresponded  with  Professor  Cowell  upon  these 
two  very  lines — or  rather  upon  the  idea  contained  in  them — 
in  March,  1857,  t)ut  it  was  reserved  for  the  latter  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  they  were  taken  from  the  Mantik-ut-Tair 
(the  Parliament,  or  Language  of  Birds)  of  Ferid-ud-din  Attar. 
F'itzGerald  himself  never  acknowledged  in  his  printed  works 
the  assistance  of  anyone,  or  (except  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Binning’s 
Journal)  the  sources  of  any  of  his  information,  but  I have 
followed  the  clue  given  by  Professor  Cowell,  and  by  dint  of 


iipon  Edward  FitzGerald's  Poem 


295 


reading  every  work  to  which  FitzGerald  refers  in  his  letters, 
during  the  time  when  he  was  composing  his  poem,  I have 
traced  the  actual  originals  of  those  debatable  lines,  and 
discovered  the  sources  from  which  his  information  concern- 
ing Persia  and  the  Persians  was  derived. 

FitzGerald,  in  1845,  was  repelled  rather  than  attracted  by 
Oriental  matters,  as  we  know  from  the  contempt  he  expressed 
concerning  Eliot  Warburton’s  “The  Crescent  and  the  Cross,” 
published  in  that  year  ; but  in  1846  Professor  Cowell  was 
translating  some  Odes  of  Hafiz/^  and  sent  some  of  his  render- 
ings to  FitzGerald,  who  was  greatly  impressed  by  them.  It 
was  not,  however,  until  1853  that,  fired  by  Cowell’s  enthusiasm, 
he  addressed  himself  seriously  to  the  study  of  the  Persian 
language,  reading  as  a foundation  Sir  Wm.  Jones’s  Persian 
Grammar,  which  exactly  suited  him,  as  all  the  examples  of  the 
rules  are  given  in  beautiful  lines  from  Hafiz,  Sa’adi,  and  other 
Persian  poets.  He  records  buying  a Gulistan  (of  Sa’adi)  “ 
whilst  still  studying  the  Grammar,  but  it  did  not  very  greatly 
influence  his  later  work.  In  1854  he  read  and  paraphrased 
Jaml’s  “Salaman  and  Absal,”  which  he  printed  for  private 
circulation  in  1856,  and  reprinted  in  1871.  After  Salaman 
came  Hafiz,  the  text  he  used  being  the  Calcutta  edition  of 
1791,  bought  for  him  by  Professor  Cowell.  In  1856  he  had 
received,  also  from  Professor  Cowell,  a copy  of  the  MS.  of 
Omar  Khayyam,  which  Cowell  had  found  uncatalogued 
and  unknown  among  the  Ouseley  MSS.  in  the  Bodleian 
Library  at  Oxford.  It  was  about  this  time  also  that  he 
began  to  correspond  with  the  eminent  French  Orientalist 
Garfin  de  Tassy,  about  the  latter’s  critical  essay  upon  the 
Mantik-ut-Tair  of  FerTd-ud*dm  Attar,  with  which  he  had 
already  become  acquainted  in  De  Sacy’s  notes  to  the  Pend 
Namah  of  the  same  poet;^®  and  early  in  1857  he  borrowed 

13.  These  were  not  published  until  September,  1S54,  when  they  appeared 
anonymously  in  Eraser's  Magazine,  and  called  forth  further  praise  from  FitzGerald. 

14.  E.  B.  Eastwick.  “ The  Gulistan,  or  Rose  Garden.”  London,  1S52. 

15.  " Pend-Nameh,  ou  Livre  des  Conseils  de  Ferid  eddin  Attar.”  Traduit 
et  public  par  M.  le  SUvestre  de  Sacy.  Paris,  1819.  At  p,  41  of  this  work 
the  parable  of  Jesus  and  the  bitter  water  in  the  jar  is  given  at  length  in  French 


296 


Some  Sidelights 


a MS.  of  the  original  poem  from  Napoleon  Newton,  the 
associate  of  Stephen  Austin,  the  Oriental  publisher  at  Hertford. 
The  two  poems,  the  Ruba’iyat  and  the  Mantik-ut-Tair, 
took  violent  hold  of  his  imagination,  and  already,  in 
March,  1857,  had  completed  “ twenty  pages  of  a 

metrical  sketch  of  the  Mantik.”  This  sketch,  though  even- 
tually finished,  was  never  published  until  after  his  death,  when 
it  was  included  in  his  Letters  and  Literary  Remains  ” ,*  but  the 
influence  of  the  original  upon  his  Ruba’iyat  of  Omar  Khayyam 

and  Persian,  and  at  pp.  168-173  there  is  a complete  tcsume  of  the  entire  Mantik- 
ut-Tair  Though  we  know  that  this  volume  formed  part  of  FitzGerald’s  course  of 
study,  I have  not  made  it  one  of  the  works  to  be  analysed  in  this  essay,  for  the 
reason  that  its  teaching  was,  without  doubt,  merged  in  that  of  the  same  author's 
Mantik-ut-Tair.  At  the  same  time,  besides  the  passage  cited  in  Note  38,  there  are 
several  passages  to  which  one  might  refer  in  such  an  essay  as  this,  exempli  gratia, 
the  story  from  Sa’adi's  Mujaliss,  which  is  worthy  of  transcription  in  its  entirety : 
“One  day,  Ibrahim  bin  Adhem  was  seated  at  the  gate  of  his  palace,  and  his 
pages  stood  near  him  in  a line  A dervish,  bearing  the  insigna  of  his  condition, 
came  up  and  attempted  to  enter  the  palace  ‘ Old  man,’  said  the  pages,  'whither 
goest  thou?  ’ *I  am  going  into  this  caravanserai,’  said  the  old  man.  The  pages 
answered,  ' It  is  not  a caravanserai , it  is  the  palace  of  Ibrahim,  Shah  of  Balkh.' 
Ibrahim  caused  the  old  man  to  be  brought  before  him,  and  said  to  him : ' Darvish, 
this  is  my  palace  ’ 'To  whom,’  asked  the  old  man,  ‘did  this  palace  originally 
belong ? * 'To  my  grandfather.’  ' After  him,  who  was  its  owner ? ’ ' My  father.' 
' And  to  whom  did  it  pass  on  his  death ^ ’ ‘To  me  ’ ' When  you  die,  to  whom 
will  it  belong?'  ‘To  my  son.’  ‘Ibrahim,’  said  the  Darvish,  ‘a  place  whither 
one  enters  and  whence  another  departs  is  not  a palace,  it  is  a caravanserai.’ " 
We  have  here  a powerful  suggestion  of  FitzGerald’s  17th  and  45th  quatrains: 
Think,  in  this  batter’d  Caravanserai, 

Whose  Portals  are  alternate  Night  and  Day, 

How  Sultan  after  Sultan  with  his  Pomp 
Abode  his  destined  Hour,  and  went  his  way. 

’Tis  but  a Tent  where  takes  his  one  day’s  rest 
A Sultan  to  the  realm  of  Death  addrest : 

The  Sultan  rises,  and  the  dark  Ferrash 
Strikes,  and  prepares  it  for  another  Guest. 

At  pp.  236-244,  we  have  a collection  of  passages  in  eulogy  of  generosity, 
and  at  p.  309,  de  Sacy  quotes  an  ode  of  Shahi  containing  the  image  of  the  rose 
tearing  asunder  its  garment  of  purple  silk, 

y U 

which  suggests  FitzGerald’s  No.  14  : 

Look  to  the  blowing  Rose  about  us,  ''  Lo, 

Laughing,"  she  says,  "into  the  world  I blow, 

At  once  the  silken  tassel  of  my  Purse 
Tear,  and  its  Treasure  on  the  Garden  throw." 

Such  parallels  might  be  greatly  extended,  but,  for  the  most  part,  the  images 
are  repeated  in  the  Mantik-ut-Tair. 


%ipon  Edward  FitzGerald's  Poem 


297 


was  so  great,  that  whole  quatrains  and  a great  many  isolated 
lines  came,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  from  the  Mantik  into 
his  poem.  It  is  not  in  any  way  surprising  that  this  was  so,  for 
Attar's  poems  are  a perfect  reflection  of  the  Ruba’iyat  of  Omar, 
on  which  it  is  more  than  probable  that  much  of  their  philo- 
sophy was  founded,  seeing  that  Ferld-ud-din  Attar  was  born 
at  Nishapur  in  Khorasan  four  years  before  Omar  Khayyam 
died  there,  and  was,  no  doubt,  brought  up  to  revere  the 
recently  deceased  poet-mathematician  and  his  works.  In  1857 
FitzGerald  received  from  De  Tassy  his  magnificent  text  of  the 
Mantik;  but  De  Tassy’s  translation  was  not  published  until 
1863,  so  FitzGerald  had  nothing  but  the  introductory  analysis 
to  help  him.  Professor  Cowell  being  at  that  time  in  India.  By 
June,  1857,  he  had  received  from  Professor  Cowell  a copy  of 
the  MS.  of  Omar  Khayyam  in  the  Bengal  Asiatic  Society’s 
Library  at  Calcutta,^®  and  addressed  himself  at  once  to  the 
arduous  task  of  deciphering  it.  We  may  infer  with  some 
degree  of  certainty  that  his  poem  was  primarily  constructed 
on  the  foundation  of  the  Bodleian  MS.  from  the  fact  that 
within  three  weeks  of  the  arrival  of  the  Calcutta  MS.  he  had 
practically  finished  the  first  draft  of  his  poem,  having  surveyed 
the  Calcutta  MS.  “rather  hastily,”  as  he  himself  says.  During 
the  remaining  months  of  1857  he  polished  and  prepared  his 
poem  for  the  press,  and  sent  it  (in  January,  1838)  to  Fraser's 
Magazine  for  publication;  but  the  editor  of  that  eminently 
respectable  serial  did  not  consider  it,  evidently,  up  to  the 
standard  demanded  by  his  other  contributors  and  readers,  and 
in  January,  1839,  FitzGerald  took  it  away  from  him,  added  a 
few  of  the  more  antinomian  quatrains  that  he  had  suppressed 
out  of  consideration  for  Fraser’s  families,  schools,  and  the 
Young  Person,  and  gave  them  to  our  mutual  friend  “little 
Quaritch  ” to  sell.  The  oft-told  tale  of  how  the  edition  fell 

16.  This  MS.  has  been  lost  or  stolen,  so  that  Professor  Cowell's  copy  is  now 
the  only  means  of  ascertaining  what  were  the  materials  from  which  FitzGerald 
worked.  A copy  is  now  being  remade  from  Professor  Cowell’s  copy  for  the 
Asiatic  Society's  Library  in  Calcutta. 


2g8 


So}m  Sidelights 


from  grace  to  the  penny  box,”  and  rose  thence  to  seven 
guineas  a copy,  has  become  a gem  of  classic  antiquity,  like 
most  of  the  anecdotes  concerning  Omar,  FitzGerald  and  Fitz- 
Gerald’s poem.  This  particular  story,  however,  has  paled 
into  insignificance,  for  a copy  of  this  first  edition  was  sold  at 
auction  on  the  loth  February,  i8g8,  to  Mr.  Quaritch  for  £21.^ 
and  I have  received  an  offer  from  America  of  ^45  for  a copy. 
Meanwhile,  he  had  read  Mr.  Binning’s  charming  journal  of  his 
travels  in  Persia,^'’'  and  culled  therefrom  the  historical,  topo- 
graphical, legendary  and  sociological  information  that  is  to  be 
found  in  the  notes  to  his  Ruba’iyat,  including  a prose  transla- 
tion of  the  quatrain  which  appeared  in  his  second  edition,  and 
which  he  quotes  in  his  notes  to  the  third  and  fourth  editions : 

The  Palace  that  to  Heav’n  his  pillars  threw, 

And  Kings  the  forehead  on  his  threshold  drew — 

I sav/  the  solitary  Ringdove  there, 

And  “Coo,  coo,  coo,”  she  cried;  and  “Coo,  coo,  coo.”^® 

(C.  419,  L.  627,  B.  619,  S.  P.  347,  ;p.  140,  B.  ii.  459,  W.  392, 
N.  350.)  This  is  merely  quoted  by  Mr.  Binning,  without 
reference  to  Omar  Khayyam,  but  FitzGerald  identified  it,  of 
course,  in  the  Calcutta  MS.  where  it  occurs,  though  it  is  not 
to  be  found  in  the  Bodleian  MS.“ 

In  1867,  Mons.  Nicolas  published  his  text  and  prose 
translation,^®  which,  as  FitzGerald  tells  us,  “ reminded  him  of 

17.  Robert  B.  M Binning.  "A  Journal  of  Two  Years'  Travel  in  Persia, 
Ceylon,  &c.’'  London,  1857  Vol.  ii , p 20. 

^ ^ ^ fiJi=s»U  Ji  6^ 

19.  FitzGerald  had  also  before  him  a very  similar  passage  from  the  Pend- 
Nameh  of  Attar  [vid&  Note  15),  to  which  de  Sacy  had  appended  notes  from  Omar 
Khayyam  and  other  poets,  which  impressed  it  on  his  mind.  The  passage  runs  as 
follows:  "Though  thou  may’st  rear  thy  palace  towards  heaven,  thou  wilt  one  clay 
be  buried  beneath  the  earth  Though  thy  power  and  strength  cciual  those  of 
Rustam,  thou  shalt  be  one  day  reduced  like  BahnTm  to  the  abode  of  the  tomb." 

jtj  j ^ 

OJ!  uajji  Jj  uisjjj  f ^ 

20.  J B.  Nicolas.  " Les  Quatrains  de  Kheyam  traduits  du  I’crsan." 
Paris,  18G7. 


upon  Edward  FitzGerald's  Poem 


299 


several  things  and  instructed  him  in  others,”  and  his  interest 
being  once  more  aroused  in  Omar  Khayyam,  he  prepared  his 
second  edition  (that  of  1868),  in  which  we  find  several  new 
quatrains  (ten  in  all),  the  originals  of  most  of  which  are  common 
to  Nicolas’s  translation  and  the  Calcutta  MS.  FitzGerald’s 
note  upon  the  dying  utterance  of  Nizam  ul  Mulk  came  from 
De  Tassy’s  translation  of  the  Mantik-ut-Tair,  which  he  sent  to 
FitzGerald  in  exchange  for  a copy  of  this  translation  by  Nicolas. 
After  this,  FitzGerald  practically  dropped  the  study  of  Persian 
literature ; he  reduced  the  number  of  his  quatrains  to  loi,  and 
gave  us  what  for  all  practical  purposes  was  the  final  form  of 
his  poem  in  the  third  edition  (of  1872). 

In  this  recapitulation  of  FitzGerald’s  study  of  the  Ruba’iyat, 

I fear  that  I have  perforce  travelled  over  well-trodden  ground, 
but  it  has  been  necessary  for  the  purpose  I have  in  view  of 
showing  how  those  studies  influenced  his  poem.  We  have, 
then,  as  his  acknowledged  materials: 

(i.)  The  Odes  of  Hafiz,  translated  by  Professor 
Cowell  in  1846,  and  published  in  1854, 
and  later,  the  Calcutta  text. 

Sir  William  Jones’s  Grammar  of  the  Persian 
Language, 

(iii.)  The  Gulistan  of  Sa’adi. 

(iv-)  The  Salaman  and  Absal  of  JamT. 

(v.)  The  Mantik-ut-Tair  of  Attar. 

(vi.)  Binning’s  Journal. 

And  of  Omar  Khayyam’s  Ruba’iyat, 

(vii.)  The  Bodleian  MS. 

(viii.)  The  Calcutta  MS. 

(ix.)  Nicolas’s  Translation  and  Text. 

I propose  to  examine  these  materials  in  their  chronological 
order,  and  call  attention  to  those  passages  whose  echoes  we 
find  in  FitzGerald’s  poem. 

L It  is  not  surprising  that  the  future  “translator”  (in 
default  of  that  better  word  for  which  Professor  Norton  appeals) 
of  the  Ruba’iyat  of  Omar  Khayyam  should  first  have  been 


300 


Some  Sidelights 


attracted  to  the  study  of  Persian  by  the  Odes  of  Hafirs  as 
presented  by  Professor  Coweirs  translations,  and  the  examples 
of  Sir  Wm.  Jones,  for  the  two  poets  are  brothers  in  song 
indeed.  There  is  recorded  a saying  of  the  great  Akbar  himself 
that  “ an  ode  of  Hafiz  is  the  wine,  and  a quatrain  of  Omar  is 
the  relish.”  I take  the  following  parallels  from  the  Odes  of 
Hafiz  translated  by  Cowell : 

Cowell’s  Hafiz.  FitzGerald’s  Ruba’iyat. 

I.  Thou  knowest  not  the  secrets  52.  A moment  guess’d — then  back 

of  futurity,  behind  the  Fold 

There  are  hidden  games  behind  Immerst  of  Darkness  round  the 

the  Veil;  do  not  despair.  Drama  roll’d 

Which,  for  the  Pastime  of 
Eternity, 

He  doth  himself  contrive,  enact, 
behold. 

There  is  a parallel  for  this  in  the  Bodleian  MS, : 

94.  To  speak  plain  language  and  not  in  parables, 
we  are  the  pieces  and  heaven  plays  the  game, 
we  are  played  together  in  a baby  game  upon  the  chessboard 
of  existence, 

and  one  by  one  return  to  the  box  of  non-existence.  “ 
FitzGerald  took  from  this  his  quatrain : 

69.  But  helpless  Pieces  of  the  Game  He  plays 
Upon  this  Chequer-board  of  Nights  and  Days 
Hither  and  thither  moves,  and  checks,  and  slays, 

And  one  by  one,  back  in  the  Closet  lays. 

So  that  the  sentiment  of  No.  52  comes  clearly  from  Hafiz. 

II.  Rest  not  thy  trust  on  that  g-io.  And  this  first  Summer  Month 

night-patrolling  star, 2®  for  that  that  brings  the  Rose 

cunning  thief  Shall  take  Jamshyd  and  Kaiko- 

Hath  stolen  Kawus’  crown  and  bad  away, 

the  girdle  of  Kay  Khusraw.  Well,  let  it  take  them  I What 

have  we  to  do 

With  Kaikobiid  the  Great,  or 
Kaikhosru  ? 

21.  H.  S.  Jarrett  Ain-i-Akbari,  by  Abu  Fazl-i-Allami.  Calcutta,  1891. 
Pt.  ii„  p,  392. 

jU  ^ j U ^1  ^3^;  )|  22 

jjlj  cab  eh  ^ ^ 

23.  i.e.,  the  Moon. 

24.  Moon — Month  =:Mah  (sUi — Persian  synonym. 


upon  Edward  FitzGerald^s  Poem 


301 


V.  The  morning  dawns  and  the 
cloud  has  woven  a canopy, 

The  morning  draught,  my  friends, 
the  morning  draught  1 . . . 

It  is  strange  that  at  such  a 
season 

They  shut  up  the  wine-tavern ! 
oh,  hasten  1 

Have  they  still  shut  up  the  door 
of  the  tavern  ? 

Open,  oh  thou  Keeper  of  the 
Gates  I 

The  parallel  here  is  obvious,  the  more  so  as  there  is  no 
quatrain  in  the  Bodleian  or  Calcutta  MSS.  that  so  com- 
pletely conveys  this  picture  of  the  unopened  tavern. 

VII.  The  foundations  of  our  peni-  93-4.  Indeed,  the  Idols  I have  loved 
tence,  whose  solidity  seemed  so  long 

as  of  stone — 

See,  a cup  of  glass,  how  easily  Have  drown’d  my  Glory  in  a 

hath  it  shattered  them  shallow  Cup 


Indeed,  indeed  Repentance 
oft  before 
I swore  . . . 

And  then  and  then  came 
Spring,  and  Rose-in-hand 
My  thread  - bare  Penitence 
a-pieces  tore. 

17.  Think,  in  this  battered  Cara- 
vanserai 

Whose  Portals  are  alternate 
Night  and  Day, 

How  Sultan  after  Sultan  with 
his  Pomp 

Abode  his  destined  Hour,  and 
wont  his  way. 

45.  ’Tis  but  a Tent  where  takes 
his  one  day’s  rest 
A Sultan  to  the  realm  of 
Death  addrest ; 

&c.  &c.  (C.  95  & no.) 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  FitzGerald  read  these  Odes 
over  again  in  Fraser's  Magazine  (as  he  himself  indicates  in  his 
**  Letters  ”)  whilst  his  poem  was  in  course  of  construction. 

22 


Since  from  this  caravanserai 
with  its  two  gates  departure 
is  inevitable. 


3.  And,  as  the  Cock  crew,  those 
who  stood  before 
The  Tavern  shouted,  Open 
then  the  Door  1 
You  know  how  little  while  we 
have  to  stay. 

And,  once  departed,  may  return 
no  more.” 


302 


Some  Sidelights 

11.  We  have  not,  however,  finished  with  Hafiz.  His  lines 
predominate  in  Sir  Wm.  Jones’s  Grammar,  and  these  isolated 
passages,  with  some  from  other  poets,  evidently  fixed  them- 
selves in  FitzGerald’s  mind  when  he  was  deciphering  them 
word  by  word  for  the  purpose  of  learning  the  language. 

Jones’s  Quotations.^^  FitzGerald’s  Ruba’iyat. 

p.  22.  Boy,  bring  the  wine,  for  the  94.  Quoted  above, 
season  □£  the  rose  ap- 
proaches; 

let  us  again  break  our  vows 
of  repentance  in  the  midst 
of  the  roses.^ 

The  fasl-i^gul  (J?  Joi),  '‘the  season  of  roses,” 

is  a common  Persian  expression  to  indicate  spring.  It  may 
be  observed  that  this  passage  was  his  first  introduction  to  the 
connection  of  the  Rose  and  Nightingale,  so  constantly  recurring 
in  Persian  belles-lettres.^'^ 

p.27.  The  Cypress  is  graceful,  but  41,  The  Cypress-slender  minister 
thy  shape  is  more  graceful  of  wine, 

than  the  cypress,^ 

p.  89.  It  is  morning;  boy,  fill  the 
cup  with  wine, 
the  rolling  heaven  makes  no 
delay;  therefore  hasten. 

The  sun  of  the  wine  rises 
from  the  east  of  the  cup : 
if  thou  seekest  the  delights  of 
mirth,  leave  thy  sleep.®® 

25*  The  Seventh  Edition.  London,  1809. 

ijW*  j'J  jS'o  i^jS  (..aKSj  Is  jr  O-T  (isS’  8jU  jU  ^L.  26 

27  Save  in  No.  6 and  remotely  in  No.  96,  FitzGerald  has  not  introduced 
the  loves  of  the  Nightingale  and  the  Rose  into  his  poem  There  are  many 
references  to  it  in  Jones.  Cf.  pp.  80,  go,  112,  120,  etc. 

^ ojloi  viSSjo  ^ ^ 29 


upon  Edward  FitzGerald's  Poem 


303 


Here  we  have  again  the  inspiration  for  the  opening 
quatrains  cited  above, 

p.  102.  By  the  approach  of  Spring  8.  The  leaves  of  life  keep  falling 
and  thereturn  of  December  one  by  one. 

the  leaves  of  our  life  are 
continually  folded.^ 

This  is  a distich  culled  by  Sir  Wm.  Jones  from  Omar 
Khayyam  himself,  and  from  a quatrain  which  occurs  in  the 
Calcutta  MS.  (No.  500),  but  FitzGerald  was  evidently  ‘‘re- 
minded of  it”  by  Nicolas’s  text,  where  it  is  No.  402,  for  the  line 
does  not  occur  in  his  first  edition.  It  was  doubtless  the  above 
quotation  that  originally  fixed  it  in  his  mind. 

On  p.  1 06.  The  spider  holds  the  veil  in  the  palace  of  Caesar; 

The  owl  stands  sentinel  on  the  watch-tower  of  Afrasiab.®^ 

This  is  a constantly  recurring  illustration  of  the  vanity  of 
earthly  glory  in  Persian  belles-lettres.  FitzGerald  took  his 
quatrain  No.  16  from  this,  and  from  the  Calcutta  MS. 

p.  nx.A  garden  more  fresh  than  Iram  indeed  is  gone  with  all 

the  bower  of  Iram.®®  his  rose. 

I cannot  ascertain  whether  FitzGerald  had  studied 
S.  Rousseau’s  ‘‘Flowers  of  Persian  Literature,”  which  was 
published  in  rSoi  as  “ a companion  to  Sir  W.  Jones’s  Persian 
Grammar,”  but  at  p.  71  of  that  work  is  an  account  of  the 
“ Garden  of  Iram,”  translated  by  Jonathan  Scott  from  the 
(Tohfet  al  Mujalis).  References  to  this 
fabulous  garden,  however,  occur  constantly  in  all  Persian 
literature. 

At  pp.  123-124  occur  quotations  referring  to  the  images  of 
the  Caravan  in  the  desert,  and  the  cock-crow  rousing  the 
apathetic  sleepers.  At  p.  132,  in  an  ode  from  Hafiz  we  find 
the  inaccessibility  of  the  secrets  of  futurity  and  the  ignorance 

^ oo/U.#  U wwUo. 

jmsA 


304 


Some  Sidelights 


of  the  wise  on  this  subject/®  and  finally  in  the  list  of  works 
recommended  to  the  student  at  the  end  of  the  Grammar,  we 
find  the  Salaman  and  Absal  of  Jam!  to  which  FitzGerald  next 
turned  his  attention. 

III.  We  have  seen  that,  whilst  FitzGerald’s  study  of 
Jones’s  Persian  Grammer  was  still  in  progress,  he  had 
obtained  Eastwick’s  translation  of  the  Gulistan  of  Sa’adi, 
and  the  text  printed  at  Hertford  by  Napoleon  Newton;  he 
also  studied  Semelet’s  text  and  translation  (Paris,  1834). 
It  is  readily  comprehensible  that  a mind  already  strongly 
attracted  by  the  Sufistic  and  antinomian  verses  of  Hafiz  did 
not  enter  into  warm  sympathy  with  the  rhapsodies  of  the 
essentially  pious  Sa’adi,  but  certain  isolated  passages  must 
have  impressed  him,  for  we  gather  distinct  echoes  of  them  in 
his  poem.  The  principal  are  as  follows  : 

Gulistan.®*  FitzGerald’s  Ruba’iyat. 

Chapter  I.,  Story  2. 

Many  famous  men  have  been 
buried  underground 
Of  whose  existence  on  earth  not 
a trace  has  remained, 

And  that  old  corpse  which  had 
been  surrendered  to  the  earth 
Was  so  consumed  by  the  soil 
that  not  a bone  remained.®® 

Here  again  is  a vivid  picture  of  the  transitory  nature  of  earthly 
pomp,  which  is  everywhere  apparent  in  Omar  Khayyam  and 
in  FitzGerald’s  poem. 

Story  g.  I spent  my  precious  life 
in  hopes,  alas ! 

That  every  desire  of  my  heart 
will  be  fulfilled ; 

My  wishes  were  realised,  but  to 
what  profit?  since 

34.  I quote  the  Kama  Shastra  Society’s  translation,  ‘'Benares”  (London, 
188S),  as  being  more  literally  accurate  than  the  rhymed  translation  of  Eastwick. 

oil  6:^  J^\i  ^J^  3ii 


upon  Edward  Fit^iGerald's  Poem  305 

There  is  no  hope  that  my  past 
life  will  return. 

♦ ♦ ♦ 

My  life  has  elapsed  in  ignorance, 

I have  done  nothing — be  on 
your  guard  I 

This  is  quite  in  the  spirit  of  Omar,  and  the  quatrains  in  Fitz- 
Gerald’s poem  which  echo  the  sentiment  are  too  numerous  to 
quote. 

Story  z6.  For  how  many  years  33-4.  Ourselves  must  we  beneath 
and  long  lives  the  couch  of  earth 

Will  the  people  walk  over  my  Descend — ourselves  to  make  a 

head  on  the  ground  ? Couch — for  whom  ? 

Ah ! make  the  most  of  what  we 
yet  may  spend, 

Before  we  too  into  the  Dust 
descend.^® 

In  chapter  ii.  we  find  references  to  the  hospitality  of 
Hatim  Tai  (F.  10)  and  the  sweet  voice  of  David  (F.  6).  In 
chapter  v.  we  recognise  the  ^‘rumble  of  a distant  drum” 
(F.  13),  and  in  chapter  vii.  the  image  of  the  verdure  and 
flowers  sprouting  from  the  clay  of  those  who  have  died  before 
us  (F.  19-20),  But  these  images  are  also  to  be  found  in  Omar, 
so  we  can  only  say  that  FitzGerald  met  with  them  originally 
in  the  Gulistan. 

IV.  The  Salaman  and  Absal  of  JamI  occupies  a small  but 
not  unimportant  place  in  this  examination,  for  it  was  one  of  the 
works  of  which  FitzGerald  laboriously  studied  the  original 
text  and  made  a metrical  paraphrase — his  first  printed  volume. 
I have  not  read  the  original  of  this,  save  in  a desultory  and 

Jkil  j(  Jl)  ii>^l 

Oil  jU  6,^  «A.^T  jrf 

jIjO 

38.  FitzGerald  had  had  before  him  a passage  very  analogous  to  this  from 
the  Bostan  of  Sa'adi,  quoted  in  Sacy’s  notes  to  the  Pend  Nameh  (loc.  cit , pp.  223-6), 
“After  having  brought  and  accumulated  goods  like  the  ant,  hasten  to  consume 
them  ere  that  thyself  art  consumed  by  the  worms  of  the  grave.” 

r/  oi  j’  \J^ 


3o6 


Some  Sidelights 


superficial  mannerj  for  I found  it  difficult  to  arouse  my  own 
interest  in  it,  but  readers  of  FitzGerald’s  paraphrase  will 
recognise  many  lines  which  contain  thoughts  which  reappeared 
in  his  ruba’iyat.  One  passage,  however,  occurs  in  it  to  which 
especial  reference  must  be  made,  and  that  is  the  couplet : 

Drinking,  that  cup  of  Happiness  and  Tears 
In  which  “Farewell”  had  never  yet  been  flung. 

This  image  recurs  in  FitzGerald’s  opening  lines  of  his 
first  edition  : 

Awake ! for  Morning  in  the  Bowl  of  Night 
Has  flung  the  Stone  that  puts  the  Stars  to  Flight : 

V,  The  Mantik-ut-Tair  of  Ferid-ud-din  Attar  is  by  far  the 
most  important  of  the  materials  under  examination,  for  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  it  might  properly  have  been  cited  on 
the  title-page  of  FitzGerald’s  poem  as  one  of  the  sources  of 
that  work.  It  is  one  of  the  most  important  expositions  that 
have  come  down  to  us  of  that  alliance  of  religious  revelation 
and  mundane  philosophy  which  the  Muslims  in  general,  and 
the  Sufi  philosophers  in  particular,  have  from  all  time  attempted 
to  demonstrate.  The  philosophical  study  of  religions  is  neither 
more  nor  less  than  an  attempt  to  solve  the  enigma  of  nature, 
and  in  Persia  this  study  has  been  the  constant  care  of  the 
Sufis.  They  commence  by  the  postulation  of  a vast  Pantheism 
in  which  everything  is  God  save  alone  God  himself,  everything 
being  regarded  by  them  as  an  emanation  from  God  and  every- 
thing being  finally  reabsorbed  into  God.  As  opposed  to  this, 
Muhammadanism  is  the  gospel  of  the  abstract  and  personal 
Unity  of  God,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  Muhammad, 
admitting  the  personalities  of  Moses,  the  Prophets  and  Christ, 
looked  upon  Christianity  as  a kind  of  developed  Judaism, 
which  authorises  us  in  concluding  that  Islam  itself  is  nothing 
more  than  an  aberration  of  Christianity. 

Sufism,  as  it  presents  itself  to  the  student  of  Omar  Khay- 
yam and  Ferid-ud-din  Attar,  has  been  admirably  described  by 


upon  Edward  FitzGerald's  Poem 


307 


the  great  English  traveller  and  Oriental  scholar  Sir  Richard 
Burton ; he  says  : It  is  the  religion  of  beauty,  whose  leading 
principle  is  that  of  earthly,  the  imperfect  type  of  heavenly  love. 
Its  high  priests  are  Anacreontic  poets ; its  rites,  wine,  music 
and  dancing,  spiritually  considered;  and  its  places  of  worship, 
meadows  and  gardens  where  the  perfume  of  the  rose  and  the 
song  of  the  nightingale,  by  charming  the  heart,,  are  supposed 
to  improve  the  mind  of  the  listener.”  The  first  Sufi  (a  word 
derived  from  sw/  — wool,  the  material  of  which  the  robes 
of  dervishes  and  fakirs  are  made)  was  one  Abu  Hashim  Kufa, 
who  lived  in  the  second  half  of  the  eighth  century  a.d.,  so  that 
Sufism  was  only  two  centuries  old  when  Omar  Khayyam 
flourished,  and  undoubtedly  its  greatest  priest  and  poet 
was  Muhammad  bin  Ibrahim  Nishapuri  Ferid-ud-dln  Attar 
(meaning  “ Pearl  of  the  Faith,  the  Druggist,”  from  his  trade, 
which  was  that  of  an  oil-presser),  born,  as  his  name  denotes, 
at  Omar’s  own  town  of  Nishapur  in  1119  a.d.,  and  massacred 
by  the  soldiers  of  Gengiz  Khan  in  1230,  and  in  the  noth 
year  of  his  age.  The  story  of  his  conversion  to  philosophical 
religion  is  told  to  the  effect  that  a Sufi  Darvish  apostrophized 
him  one  day  in  his  shop,  congratulating  himself  that  he  had 
no  merchandise  to  carry  on  the  Mystic  Road,  or  Oriental 
‘‘  Way  of  Salvation,”  and  exhorting  Attar  to  prepare  himself 
for  the  journey. 

Attar,  like  almost  every  other  Persian  poet,  wrote  an  immense 
quantity  of  verse,  but  his  most  interesting  and  important  work 
is  undoubtedly  his  Language  of  Birds,”  a title  which  he 
borrowed  from  the  passage  in  the  Qur’an,  where  Solomon 
declares,  on  his  accession  to  the  throne  of  David,  Oh,  men  ! 
I understand  the  language  of  the  birds. No  exposition  of 
the  doctrines  of  Sufism  could  be  more  complete  than  that 
contained  in  this  book,  and  as  those  doctrines  are  prominent 

39.  K.  F.  Burton.  “ Sindh,  and  the  Races  that  inhabit  the  Valley  of  the 
Indus."  London,  1851.  Ch.  viii.,  p.  201. 

40.  Chap,  xxvii.,  v.  16. 


3oS  Some  Sidelights 

in  the  sentiments  of  Omar  Khayyam,  we  may  shortly  state 
them,  as  follows : 

(i.)  All  created  beings  are  emanations  from  God 
and  are  finally  reabsorbed  in  God. 

(ii.)  Since  God  orders  all  things,  good  and  bad 
are  indifferent,  a doctrine  identical  with  that  of  the 
early  Christian  schismatics  called  Adamites,’’  whose 
rites  and  tenets,  by  the  way,  leave  much  to  be  desired 
on  the  score  of  social  ethics. 

(iii.)  The  soul  is  everything  and  the  body  im- 
prisons it,  therefore  death  is  merely  a return  to  God.*^ 

And  these  doctrines  are  clothed  in  a wealth  of  imagery, 
often  licentious,  which,  like  the  doctrine  of  Platonism,  invoke 
God  under  the  form  of  beauty,  pleasure,  and  woman — which 
are  one.  It  may  be  observed  that  the  Sufis  do  not  admit  the 
contention  of  the  strict  Muhammadans  that  they  are  heretics  i 
indeed,  Attar  himself,  in  the  epilogue  to  this  poem,  says 
(as  Omar  said  before  him^®),  I am  neither  a Muslim  nor  an 
infidel,”  and  immediately  after  implores  God  to  keep  him 
firm  in  the  faith  of  Islam, and  to  make  him  die  therein.^® 

I will  now,  following  as  far  as  possible  the  system  observed 
above,  point  out  some  of  the  principal  parallels  between  the 
Mantik-ut-Tair  and  FitzGerald’s  Ruba’iyat.  The  lines  in  the 
Mantik  are  counted  by  distichs  (d). 

41.  Qur  an,  chap,  i , v.  151 , *'  We  are  of  God  and  return  to  him. 

42.  “ Beneath  this  heaven  of  azure  marble  I am  neither  an  independent 
infidel  nor  a perfect  Muslim,”  which  is  L.  527.  C.  3^0,  W.  3^7.  N.  315.  S P 314 
P.  302,  B.  532,  B.  ii.  417. 

ii  ^ jilS-  ^ ^ 

43-  d.  4592.  I remain  neither  an  infidel  nor  a Muslim, 

Between  the  two  I remain  bewildered. 

44.  d.  4595.  Open  this  door  to  worthless  me, 

And  indicate  a path  to  this  pathless  (/os^)  one, 

j Oil  o-  .rf 

. JO  ^ 4S 


upon  Edward  FitzGerald's  Poem 


309 


Mantik-ut-Tair. 

4.  To  this  (i.sj.,  the  sky)  he  has 
imparted  a perpetual  motion.^® 
d,  24.  The  sky  is  like  a bird  that 
flutters  along  the  path  God 
has  appointed  for  it.^^ 
d.  145.  What  is  the  sky,  like  a bowl 
turned  upside  down,  unstable, 
stationary  and  revolving  at  the 
same  time,^® 

d.  2290.  The  sky  is  like  a dish 
turned  upside  down.^s 
d*  38.  From  the  back' of  the  Fish 
(Mahi)  to  the  Moon  (Mah) 
every  atom  attests  Him.®“ 


FitzGerald, 

72.  And  that  inverted  Bowl  they 
call  the  Sky, 

As  impotently  moves  as  you 
or  I. 


51.  Taking  all  shapes  from  Mah 
to  Mahi. 

They  change  and  perish  all, 
but  He  remains  I 


A score  of  passages  might  be  quoted  in  which  this  figure 
occurs.  FitzGerald’s  quatrain  came,  as  a whole,  from  the 
Calcutta  MS.  (C.  72). 

d,  147-8.  Can  he  who  during  so  32.  There  was  the  Door  to  which 
many  years . . . has  impotently  I found  no  key ; 

frequented  the  Door,  know  There  was  the  Veil  through 

what  is  behind  the  veil.^^^  which  I might  not  see. 

This  is  also  an  image  which  constantly  recurs. 


d,  152.  Those  who  before  us 
entered  upon  the  Path 
have  studied  the  Mystery  time 
and  ag<ain. 

They  have  agitated  themselves 
profoundly  and  in  the  end 
their  result  is  feebleness  and 
astonishment.®*'* 


ls*  ^ 


26.  Why  all  the  Saints  and  Sages 
who  discuss’d 

Of  the  Two  Worlds  so  wisely 
— they  are  thrust 
Like  foolish  Prophets  forth; 

their  words  to  scorn 
Are  scattered  and  their  Mouths 
arc  stopt  with  Dust. 

wJIo  f*|oU 

Jv  t/* 

&U.J  l>  j|  Ka  .Mil. lift  jJb 

51 

tJJUAMl  6jiJiS  ^ jl 


310 


Some  Sidelights 


There  is  a quatrain  in  Omar  (L.  326,  C.  236,  B.  322, 
W.  147,  N.  120,  S.  P.  120)  which  is  almost  identical  with  this. 

At  d,  2i6-8.  Oh  I Thou  who  pardonest  my  faults  and  acceptest  my  excuses,  I 
am  an  hundred  times  consumed,  why  burn  me  again.  It  is  by 
thy  impulsion  that  my  blood  boils  ; lei  me  shew  my  ardour. 

Here  we  have  part  of  the  sentiment  of  the  quatuor  of 
quatrains  There  is  a parallel  quatrain  for  this  in  Omar, 

(L.  449,  C.  286,  W.  276,  N,  236,  S.  P.  235,  B.  445,  B,  ii.  308) 
but  the  whole  of  this  great  quatuor  is  a redelivery  of  the 
sentiments  conveyed  in  the  parable  quoted  here;  a little 
further  on  we  find  dd.  217  (6^^^)  to  220.  “Oh!  Thou 
my  Creator  I the  good  and  the  bad  actions  that  I com- 
mit, I commit  with  my  body.  Pardon  my  weakness  and 
efface  my . faults.  I am  led  away  by  my  natural  instincts 
and  cast  by  Thee  into  uncertainty ; therefore  the  good  and 
the  bad  I do  comes  from  Thee.”^^  And  further,  d.  225: 
“Thou  hast  planted  in  the  centre  of  my  soul  a black  mole 
original  sin).  Thou  hast  marked  me  with  a spot  as 
black  as  the  skin  of  an  Abyssinian  ; but  if  I do  not  become 
Thy  mole,  how  can  I become  accepted  by  Thee?  There- 
fore to  attain  that  state  I have  made  my  heart  like  a black 
Abyssinian  slave.”  s®  Here  we  have  the  original  of  the  lines  : 
For  all  the  Sin  with  which  the  face  of  Man 
Is  blackened,  Man’s  forgiveness  give — and  take ! 

This  plea  for  reciprocal  forgiveness  appears  again  with 
great  force  at  d.  4618  : “ Deign  to  notice  neither  the  good  nor 
the  bad  that  I have  done.  Since  Thou  createdst  me  gratuitously, 
Thou  must  pardon  me  gratuitously.”®’  We  shall  presently 

O'*  jj—  8j  0-.  )y]  jic  jy,]  sUS"  ^,1  53 

U y 

54-  By  an  error  of  the  Editor  the  numbers  ai,  to  220  are  repeated  twice. 

(.1  ii  y,  ^1  ajy  04  ^ ^ iaiu.  65 

ly  ^ ^ \jM  ^ JOB 

r j y j ss 

.A  uiy.X!J6  ^ b ^ ^ y 

J v>.y-  J*  ji 


sr 


^ipon  Edward  FitzGerald's  Poem 


311 

find  other  passages  in  the  Mantik-ut-Tair  which  are  iden- 
tical in  sentiment  with  this  quatuor.  We  will  proceed  again 
with  the  parallel  passages. 

Mantik-ut-Tair.  FitzGerald. 

d.  240.  So  loii^  as  my  Soul  comes  43.  And,  offering  his  Cup,  invite 
not  forth  to  my  lips,  I will  your  Soul 

cherish  these  thoughts.^s  Forth  to  your  Lips  to  quaff — 

dd.  2501  and  3031  open  passages  you  shall  not  shrink, 

containing  this  same  meta- 
phor.so 

rf.  302.  One  night  he  (Muhammad)  31.  Upfrom  Earth’s  Centre  through 
ascended  to  heaven,  and  all  the  Seventh  Gate 

secrets  were  revealed  to  I rose  and  on  the  Throne  of 

him from  God  he  Saturn  sate  ; 

obtained  complete  under-  And  many  a Knot  unravel’ d by 

standing  of  all  things.eo  the  Road. 

The  Seven  Gates,”  or  Seven  Heavens,”  recur  con- 
tinually all  through  the  poem,  sc.  dd,  271®^  and  1818,'’®  etc. 
At  d,  451  we  find  a reference  to  the  life-giving  breath  of 
Jesus, and  at  d,  453  to  the  White  Hand  of  Moses. At 
d,  742  et  passim  the  loves  of  the  Nightingale  and  the  Rose,®® 

At  rf,  972.  An  observer  of  Spiritual  33.  Earth  could  not  answer;  nor 
Things  approached  the  the  Seas  that  mourn 

Ocean,  and  asked  ^it  why  it  In  flowing  Purple  of  their 

was  clad  in  blue  (purple) ; Lord  forlorn, 

why  this  robe  of  mourning 
. , , The  Ocean  replied 

. . . “ I weep  for  my 

separation  from  The  Friend. 

og#l  J&.T  |*ij  (a) 

d^T  ji  C5^  ^ (6) 

cs^ 


312 


Some  Sidelights 


Since,  by  reason  of  my  in- 
sufficiency, I am  not  worthy 
of  him,  I am  clad  in  blue 
on  account  of  the  sorrow 

that  I suffer.  ”^55 

These  are  the  two  lines  upon  which  Professor  Cowell  has 
given  us  the  note  which  gave  me  the  first  clue  for  these 
researches.  A curious  illustration  of  FitzGerald’s  method 
is  found  in  connection  with  the  passage  at  d,  1017:  '‘The  true 
dawn  was  the  light  of  his  countenance.”  This,  together  with 
Mr.  Binning’s  note  on  the  phenomena  of  the  Oriental  sunrise, 
produced  his  line  and  note  concerning  "the  Phantom  of 
False  Morning.”  The  process  will  be  set  out  further  on. 

At  d.  1559,  We,  all  of  us,  leave  the  29.  And  out  of  it,  as  Wind  along 
world  like  Wind,  it  has  gone  the  Waste, 

and  we  must  go  too.“  I know  not  Whither,  willy- 

nilly  blowing. 

This  is  one  of  two  frequently  recurrent  images  of  death 
in  Persian  poetry;  the  other  we  find  in  d.  2288.  " Knowest  thou 
not  that  every  man  who  is  born,  sinks  into  the  earth  and  the 
wind  disperses  his  elements,”^® — a figure  as  frequently  found  in 
Omar  as  the  former  one. 

At  d.  1866.  Heaven  and  Hell  are  re- 
flections, the  one  of  thy 
goodness,  and  the  other  of 
thy  anger.'^° 

Here,  again,  we  have  a true  original,  for  there  is  no  parallel 
for  No.  68  in  Omar.  FitzGerald  was  reminded  of  it,  but  no 


68.  Heav’n  but  the  Vision  of  ful- 
fill’d Desire, 

And  Hell  the  Shadow  from  a 
Soul  on  fire. 


J)l  1*1 

rij;  s?-  r“  ^ ^ j 

^■^i*^**  y ^ 


,1  Jj.  ^ ^ Uj 

r'-iJ  ts*  “ 

ti\j  jJb  ^ 

til y 


%t>pon  Edward  FitzGerald^s  Poem  313 

more,  by  quatrain  33  of  the  Bodleian,  and  90  of  the  Calcutta 
MSS.,  which  reads  : 

The  heavenly  vault  is  the  girdle  of  my  weary  body, 

Jihuii  is  a watercourse  worn  by  my  filtered  tears, 

Hell  is  a spark  from  my  useless  worries, 

Paradise  is  a moment  of  time  when  I am  tranquil.'^^ 

We  trace  in  this  quatrain  the  original  of  “ the  Soul  on  Fire.” 

We  find  the  first  mention  of  “the  rumble  of  the  distant 
drum,”  at  d.  2162,  “ He  whose  lofty  station  is  indicated  by  the 
drum  and  the  standard,  cannot  become  a darvish,”’^  and  at 
2733?  **  Were  it  not  better  to  strike  the  drum  of  sovereignty,” 
etc.’* 

At  rf.  3340.  Hcwho  contr  oiled  the  world  beneath  his  signet-ring  Solomon) 

is  actually  an  element  beneath  the  earth."^^ 

This  figure  occurs  in  various  forms  in  Omar,  and  has  been 
freely  made  use  of  by  FitzGerald. 

At  tL  3342.  The  dead  sleep  beneath  29 the  fire  of  Anguish 

the  earth,  but  though  asleep  in  some  Eye 

they  are  anguished.’^^  There  hidden,  far  beneath  and 

long  ago. 

Closely  following  these  passages,  we  find  the  following 
fable  : 

ii,  2345.  (On  a certain  occasion)  Jesus  drank  of  the  water  of  a clear  stream 
whose  flavour  was  more  sweet  than  that  of  rose-water.  By  his 
side,  a certain  one  filled  his  jar  at  this  same  stream  and  then 
withdrew.  Then  Jesus  drank  a little  from  this  jar,  and  pursued 
his  way,  but  now  he  found  the  water  bitter,  and  stood  amazed. 
“ Oh,  Godl’’  he  said,  “the  water  of  the  stream  and  that  in  the 
jar  are  identical ; explain  to  me  the  mystery  of  this  difference  in 
the  flavour,  why  is  the  water  in  the  jar  bitter  and  that  in  the 
stream  more  sweet  than  honey.”  Then  spake  the  jar  these 
words  to  Jesus:  “ I am,  of  old,  a man.  I have  been  kshioned 


i4LA>Mi|  cihiil  j) 

^ 

y j\ 


iA»|  6,XSbL.  ji  jij 


314 


Some  Sidelights 


a thousand  times  beneath  the  seven-domed  heavens,  now  into 
a vase,  now  into  a jar,  and  again  into  a bowl.  They  may 
refashion  me  again  a thousand  times,  but  I shall  always  be 
tainted  with  the  bitterness  of  death.  It  so  impregnates  me  that 
water  contained  in  me  can  never  be  sweet.” 

FitzGerald,  in  his  paraphrase  of  the  Mantik,*^^  rendered 
this  answer  very  beautifully ; 

The  Clay  that  I am  made  of,  once  was  Man, 

Who  dying,  and  resolved  into  the  same 
Obliterated  Earth  from  which  he  came 
Was  for  the  Potter  dug  and  chased  in  turn 
Through  long  vicissitude  of  Bowl  and  Urn  : 

But,  howsoever  moulded,  still  the  pain 
Of  that  first  mortal  Anguish  would  retain. 

And  cast  and  re-cast,  for  a Thousand  years 
Would  turn  the  sweetest  Water  into  Tears. 

And  it  was  to  this  passage  of  the  Mantik,  and  to  this 
alone,  that  we  owe  the  quatrain  No.  38. 

And  has  not  such  a Story  from  of  Old 
Down  Man’s  successive  generations  roll’d. 

Of  such  a clod  of  saturated  Earth 
Cast  by  the  Maker  into  Human  mould  ? 

In  the  comment  upon  this  parable  in  the  Mantik  we  find 
the  original  of  another  quatrain  of  Fitzgerald. 


v-jjJlS*  jl  (l«jT  (•UU 

ol^  ^ 

^L>  jJb 


[3^ 

^ ^ |Ub  l%Jb  1*1  dXSu^ 


oT 

--ab 

L kiL^sS 
*-r^T  m 1^  U 
JO  *x#T  ^ ^Ji^, 

jljJs  ^5jU  W 


77  This  paraphrase  was  never  published  during  Fitii Gerald’s  lifetime. 
It  occupies  pp  433-452  of  vol.  ii.  of  his  - Letters  and  Literary  Remains.”  (Vide 
Kote  12.)  ^ 


upon  Edward  Fitr.Gerald's  Poem 


315 


<^*3355.  Thou  thyself  art  lost.  Oh!  53.  But  if  in  vain,  down  on  the 
Thou  that  pursuest  the  stubborn  floor 

Mystery.  Strive  to  discover  Of  Earth,  and  up  to  Heav’n’s 

it,  ere  thy  life  be  reft  from  unopening  Door, 

thee,  for  if,  to-day,  whilst  You  gaze  To-rfay  while  You  are 

thou  livest  thou  findest  not  You— how  then 

thyself,  how  then,  when  To-morrow,  You  when  shall  be 

thou  art  dead,  shalt  thou  You  no  more? 

unravel  the  secret  of  thine 
existence  ? 

The  whole  doctrine  of  the  evanescence  of  the  world  is 
contained  in  the  27th  chapter,  which  immediately  follows 
this,  and  which  contains  the  germ  of  one  of  FitzGerald’s  most 
sarcastic  quatrains ; 

d.  2409.  If  thou  seekest  a moment  65.  The  Revelations  of  Devout  and 
of  well-being  in  this  world,  Learn’d 

Sleep ! and  then  repeat  Who  rose  before  us  and  as 

what  thou  hast  seen  in  thy  Prophets  burn’d 

dreams.*^  Are  all  but  Stories  which  awoke 

from  Sleep, 

They  told  their  comrades  and 
to  Sleep  returned. 

It  may  be  observed,  however,  that  FitzGerald  translated 
his  quatrain  from  No.  127  of  the  Calcutta  MS. 

We  come  now  to  another  most  interesting  side-light  upon 
FitzGerald’s  mental  process.  There  is  in  the  Calcutta  MS. 
(but  not  in  the  Bodleian  MS.  or  Nicolas)  a quatrain,  No.  387, 
which  may  be  thus  rendered : 

Neither  thou  nor  I know  the  Secret  of  Eternity, 

And  neither  can  thou  nor  I read  this  Enigma. 

There  is  talk  of  me  and  thee  behind  the  curtain, 

(But)  When  they  raise  the  curtain  there  remains  neither  thee  nor  me.“ 

From  this  FitzGerald  constructed  two  remarkable  verses: 

32.  There  was  the  Door  to  which  I found  no  Key ; 

There  was  the  Veil  through  which  I might  not  see : 

^ oW-  jb 

^ y / 

^ i i^b^  y ^ O'*  ^ y ^ 


3i6 


Some  Sidelights 


Some  little  talk  awhile  of  Me  and  Thee 
There  was — and  then  no  more  of  Thee  and  Me. 

34.  Then  of  the  Thee  in  Me  who  works  behind 
The  Veil,  I lifted  up  my  hands  to  find 
A lamp  amid  the  Darkness:  and  I heard, 

As  from  Without,  “ The  Me  within  Thee  blind 

There  are  those,  I believe,  “ who  by  Genius  and  by  Power 
of  Brain”  have  found  these  two  quatrains  quite  simple  and 
self-explanatory.  For  my  own  part,  I confess  that  I never 
understood  them  in  the  least  until  I found  the  two  passages  in 
Ferid-ud-din  Attar,  which  evidently  surged  up  in  FitzGerald’s 
brain  when  he  read  the  Calcutta  quatrain.  They  are  as 
follows : 

d,  3090.  The  Creator  of  the  world  spoke  thus  to  David  from  behind  the 
Curtain  of  the  Secret:  “Everything  in  the  world,  good  or  bad, 
visible  or  invisible,  is  mere  substitute,  unless  it  be  Me,  Me  for 
whom  thou  canst  find  neither  substitute  nor  equal.  Since 
nothing  can  be  substituted  for  Me,  do  not  cease  to  abide  in  Me. 
I am  thy  soul,  be  not  separated  from  Me;  I am  necessary,  thou 
art  dependent  upon  Me  . . . Seek  not  to  exist  apart  from  Me.”®^ 

and 

d,  3735.  “Since  long  ago,  really,  I am  Thee  and  Thou  art  Me,  we  two  are 
but  one.  Art  thou  Me  or  am  I Thee,  is  there  any  duality 
in  the  matter  ? Or  else,  I am  thee,  or  thou  art  me,  or  thou, 
thou  art  thyself.  Since  thou  art  me  and  I am  thee  for  ever,  our 
two  bodies  are  one.  That  is  all  I ” 

This  is  an  admirable  specimen  of  the  Sufistic  argument  of 
Unity  with  God,  or  the  Thee-in-Me  that  FitzGerald  has 
introduced  with  such  mystic  skill  into  his  Ruba’iyat, 

^ CjlswsJl  (3^  O'*  tjlsUDl 

\x^  ^ \j>*  Ul 

ii  Jilp  &ai&.  ^ y U 

0]  ^ 0*^  ^ y*  o^  O"* 

y y j O'*  cs^  ^ ojit  ®- 

^yy  y ^ o*  y ry  ^ \3y  o*  ^ ty-*  y 

o*  y y y o**^  o*  y o>^ 


upon  Edward  FitzGerald's  Poem  317 

I have  never  found  in  Omar  any  mention  of 

The  Mighty  Mahmoud  Allah -breathing  Lord 
That  all  the  misbelieving  and  black  Horde 
Of  Fears  and  Sorrows  that  infest  the  Soul 
Scatters  before  him  with  his  whirlwind  Sword. 

The  reference  is  to  Mahmoud  the  Ghasnawi,  who  made  war 
upon  the  black  infidels  of  Hindostan,  whose  conquest  and 
its  sequelae  are  related  at  d.  3117  of  the  Mantik.  The  main 
image  of  the  quatrain,  the  dispersal  of  fears  and  sorrows  by 
wine,  comes  primarily  to  FitzGerald  from  a quatrain  which  is 
No,  81  in  the  Bodleian  and  No.  180  in  the  Calcutta  MSS. 

In  like  manner,  though  Omar  is  full  of  allusions  to  the 
dead  that  come  not  back  again,  the  precise  image  of  our 
ignorance  of  the  road  they  travel  comes  primarily  from  the 
Mantik  : 

d.  3205.  No  one  has  returned  to 
the  world  after  having 
travelled  that  Road,  no 
one  knows  how  many  para- 
sangs  it  extends  . . . Fool 
that  thou  art  1 how  can 
those  who  have  been  lost 
in  the  Road  for  ever  tell 
us  of  it,^« 

This  passage  is  quoted  in  the  Notes  to  De  Sacy’s  Pend 
Naineh,  where  FitzGerald  originally  saw  it. 

At  rf.  3229  we  find  an  allegory  related  by  Amru  Osman,  in 
which  we  read  of  the  presence  of  the  Snake  (Iblis)  in  Paradise 
at  the  moment  of  the  creation  of  Adam  (FitzGerald  81),  and  at 
rf,  3248  Satan  argues  with  the  Creator  quite  in  the  manner  of 
FitzGerald*s  great  quatuorof  quatrains:  If  malediction  comes 
from  thee,  there  comes  also  mercy ; the  created  thing  is  de- 
pendent upon  thee  since  destiny  is  in  thy  hands.  If  maledic- 

ii  4^1  al;  Qi) 

23 


6^.  Strange  is  it  not?  that  of  the 
myriads  who 

Before  us  pass’d  the  door  of 
Darkness  through 
Not  one  returns  to  tell  us  of 
the  Road, 

Which  to  discover,  we  must 
V travel  too. 


31 8 Some  Sid'elights 

tion  be  my  lot,  I do  not  fear;  for  every  poison  there  is  an 
antidote.’’®* 

Finally,  at  d.  4620,  we  find  the  dying  words  of  Omar’s 
reputed  friend  Ni^am  ul  Mulk,  recorded  by  FitzGerald  in  his 
letter  to  Professor  Cowell  of  28th  December,  1867,®^  and  quoted 
in  a note  to  his  Introduction. 

The  parallel  passages  cited  at  so  much  length  above 
might  have  been  considerably  increased,  but  I think  that 
enough  have  been  recorded  to  exhibit  the  intimate  connection 
between  Fitzgerald’s  study  of  this  Author  and  his  own  poem. 

VI.  We  now  come  to  the  last  of  the  authorities  cited  as 
FitzGerald’s  material  for  his  work,  the  Journal  of  Mr.  Binning, 
from  which  he  drew  very  largely  for  his  notes.  To  the 
student  of  Oriental  manners  and  customs  no  more  interesting 
or  delightful  work  has  been  written,  the  conservative  tendencies 
of  the  Persians  having  militated  successfully  against  any  pro- 
gress in  their  social  conditions,  so  that  the  reader  of  the  latest 
travel-journal  of  Persia  finds  little  or  nothing  altered  in  the 
state  of  the  country  from  what  was  described  by  Binning,  and 
before  him  by  Dr.  Wolff,®®  by  the  Hon.  Mountstuart  Elphin- 
stone,®*^  and  by  even  earlier  travellers. 

FitzGerald’s  first  note  about  the  False  Dawn  is  taken 
from  vol,  i.,  p.  176,  practically  word  for  word.  It  is  curious 
to  note  that  in  speaking  of  the  subh  i sadik 
True  Dawn,  FitzGerald  has  followed  Binning  in  his  Persian 
phrase  for  False  Dawn,  the  subh  i kazih  (s-0^  ^ phrase 

that  does  not  occur  in  Omar.  In  quatrain  145  of  the  Calcutta 
MS.  we  find  the  synonym  subh  i azrak  literally 

j^j 

oLai^l  gy  uaIWI  piSia  85 

86.  Joseph  Wolff,  D.D.,  LL.D.  "Narrative  of  a Mission  to  Bokhara  in 
the  years  1843-1845."  London,  1846 

87.  Vide  Note  8. 


upon  Edward  FitzGerald's  Poem  319 

‘*the  blue  dawn/'  having  the  same  meaning,  which  one  would 
have  expected  FitzGerald  (who  had  it  before  him)  to  use. 

Mr.  Binning’s  work,  besides  referring  at  some  length  to 
the  Mantik-ut-Tair  of  Attar,  contains  translations  of  a dozen 
odes  of  Hafiz  which  we  know  were  in  FitzGerald’s  mind 
(together  with  those  of  Cowell)  when  he  was  constructing  his 
poem.  One  or  two  passages  from  these  translations  will  show 
what  I mean : 

III.  The  season  of  Spring  has  arrived : endeavour  now  to 
be  merry  and  gay  while  thou  art  able ; for  the  roses  wdll  blow 
again  and  again,  after  thou  art  laid  under  the  sod. 

V.  Bring  the  right  medicine  for  all  the  pains  and  troubles 
of  love — namely,  the  juice  of  the  grape — for  that  is  the  true 
panacea  for  all  ills  that  beset  both  the  young  and  the  old. 

VI.  When  Hafiz  has  become  fairly  intoxicated,  he  cares 
not  a barleycorn  for  the  whole  Empire  of  the  Cyruses. 

VIL  At  early  dawn  I walked  forth  into  the  garden  to  pluck 
a rose,  when  suddenly  the  plaintive  voice  of  a nightingale  fell  on 
mine  ear.  The  poor  bird  like  myself,  was  in  love  with  the  rose, 
and,  sick  with  the  passion,  warbled  its  complaint. 

XII.  Bring  the  wine,  O cupbearer,  for  the  season  of  roses 
has  arrived,  that  we  may  again  break  our  vows  of  abstinence 
among  the  rosebushes. 

It  will  be  observed  that  some  of  these  have  already  been 
quoted  by  Professor  Cowell  and  Sir  William  Jones. 

Mr.  Binning’s  information  about  the  festival  of  the  Nu- 
ruz  (New  Year),  reproduced  by  FitzGerald,  is  to  be  found  at 
vol.  i.,  p.  346,  and  vol.  ii.,  pp.  160,  165  and  207,  and  the 
account  of  Bahram  Gur  is  taken  from  vol,  ii.,  pp.  353  and 
357,  though  we  have  it  recorded  by  FitzGerald  himself  in  his 
letters  that  he  made  a superficial  study  of  the  Haft  Paikar, 
of  Nizami,  which  contains  the  legend  of  that  hero’s  Seven 
Castles  and  the  seven  ladies  inhabiting  them,  who  recount 
their  stories  in  turn  in  true  Oriental  style. 


88  Loc.  cit , Note  12,  vol.  i.,  p.  266 


320  Some  Sidelights  ^ipon  Edward  FitzGerald^s  Poem 

At  the  risk  of  being  wearisomely  prolix,  I have  set  out  the 
above  parallels  seriatim,  encouraged  by  the  belief  that  nothing 
that  adds  to  our  knowledge  of  the  history  of  FitzGerald’s 
beautiful  poem  can  lack  interest  for  the  students  and  admirers 
of  that  poem.  The  array  might  have  been  largely  extended, 
but  not,  I think,  with  any  great  advantage.  It  has  been  enough 
to  show  that,  as  I stated  at  the  outset,  FitzGerald’s  Ruba’iyat 
of  Omar  Khayyam”  is,  in  addition  to  being  a remarkable  para- 
phrase of  Omar’s  incomparable  quatrains,  a synthetical  result 
of  our  poet’s  entire  course  of  Persian  studies. 

London,  July,  1898. 


(Gratitude  is  due  that  this  book  is  finished